COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY 
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 LIBRARY 
 
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AMEBICAN" 
 
 BEING A COLLECTIOJf 
 
 I^ATIVE MEDICINAL PLANTS 
 
 UNITED STATES, 
 
 CONTAINING THEIR 
 
 BOTANICAL HISTORY AND CHEMICAL ANALYSIS, 
 
 AND PROPERTIES AND USES 
 
 IN 
 
 MEDICINE, DIET AND THE ARTS, 
 
 WITH 
 
 COLOURED ENGRAVINGS. 
 
 BY JACOB BIGELQW, M. D. 
 
 HUMFOKD PKOFKSSOR AND lECTUKER ON ^rATERTA MEBICA AND BOTANY 
 IN HAKVAllD UNIVERSITY. 
 
 yoL. I 
 
 BOSTON: 
 
 PUBLISHED BY CUMMINGS AND HIELIARD, AT THE 
 BOSTON BOOKSTORE, NO. 1 CORNHIIL. 
 
 TJNiyERSITK PHESS....HIM.IAHO AND METCALF. 
 1818. 
 

 KZ-J 
 
 DISTRICT OF :MASSACHUSETTS, TO WIl : 
 
 District Clerk's Office. 
 
 BE it remombei-ed, that on the twenty' eighth day of October, A. D, 1818, and in the forty third 
 year ol' the Independence of the United States of America, Jacob Bigelow, M. D. of the said dis- 
 trict, has deposited in this office the title of a book, the right whereof he claims as author, in the 
 words follov.mg, viz. 
 
 " American Medical Botany, being a collection of the native medicinal plants of the United States, 
 containing their botanical history and chemical analysis, and properties and uses in medicine, diet 
 and the arts, T\ith coloured engi-avings. By Jacob Bigelow, M. D. Rumford Professor and Lec- 
 turer on Materia Medica and 13otany in Harvard University. Vol. II." 
 
 In conformity to the Act of the Congress of the United States, entitled " An Act for the en- 
 couragement of learning, by securing the copies of maps, charts and books, to the authors and 
 propiietors of such copies, during the times therein mentioned :" and also to an act entitled, " An 
 act supplementai-y to an act entitled, an act for the encouragement of learning, by securing the 
 copies of maps, charts and books, to the authors and proprietors of such copies during the times 
 therein mentioned ; and extendmg the benefits thereof to the arts of designing, engraving and 
 etching historical and other printj. 
 
 TOHVW TiAVT«; S Clerk of the District 
 JOHN W. DAY lb, ^ of Massachusetts. 
 

 
 \ 
 
PI .1 . 
 
 Tio.h 
 
 m\ 
 
 ^ ^y//^i. 
 
 ■^f fr/ /y/t // /// /// / J , 
 
AMEEICAN 
 
 MEDICAL BOTANY. 
 
 DATURA STRAMONIUM. 
 
 Thorn Jipple, 
 
 PLATE I. 
 
 1 HE Datura Stramonium, is a wandering an- 
 nual plant, which follows tlie progress of culti- 
 vation, and is rarelj found remote from the vi- 
 cinity of dwellings. It occurs in every part of 
 the Atlantic coast from Maine to the Floridas, 
 and is also found in the Western States in the 
 neighbourhood of settlements. Its favorite haunts 
 are the borders of fields and roadsides, among 
 rubbish and in neglected spots of I'ich ground. 
 It emigrates with great facility, and often springs 
 up in the ballast of ships, and in earth carried 
 from one country to another. This circumstance 
 in Europe has undeservedly given rise to the 
 opinion, that it is originally an American plant. 
 Its native country, however, is doubtful, from 
 
18 DATURA STRAMONIUM. 
 
 tlie want of autlientic descriptions of sufficient 
 antiquity. One of the oldest satisfactory accounts 
 of it is that of Gerarde in 1597, wlio has published 
 a description and figure of this plant, and states 
 that it was introduced into England by himself, 
 from seeds received froniConstantinople. [JVb^e A.] 
 
 Its common name in Europe, derived from 
 the form of its fruit, is Thorn apple. In this 
 country its provincial names are Apple of Perif, J)e- 
 tWs apple^ and Jamestown weed. It is a plant of 
 rank growth and luxuriant foliage, varying in height 
 from one to six feet, according to the soil in which 
 it grows. In Carolina it begins to flower in May, 
 and in Massachusetts about the latter part of Ju- 
 ly, and continues until the arrival of frosts. 
 
 The Datura Stramonium belongs to the first 
 order of the fifth class in the Linnsean artificial 
 arrangement. In its natural order it is found 
 among the Luridge of Linnseus and the Solanese 
 of Jussieu. The following are the essential 
 anarks which characterize the genus Datura. The 
 corolla funnel form and plaited. The calyao tu- 
 hulart angular and deciduous. The capsule four 
 TaZred.— Under this genus are comprehended a 
 number of species, a great part of which are na- 
 tives of warm latitudes. The species Stramoni- 
 um is distinguished from the rest by the follow- 
 
THORN APPLE. 19 
 
 ing character. Capsules thorny, erect, ovate; leaves 
 ovate, angular, smooth. — A more particular de- 
 scription of tlie plant is as follows. Stem erect, 
 simple at bottom, much branched at top by repeat- 
 ed forks, smooth or slightly pubescent, hollow in 
 the large plants, often solid in small ones. Leaves 
 given off from the forks of the stem, five or six 
 inches long, acute, irregularly sinuated and tooth- 
 ed, with large acute teeth and round sinuses, the 
 sides of the base extending unequally down the 
 petiole. Flowers single, axillary, on short stalks, 
 erect or nodding. Calyx composed of one leaf, 
 tubular, with five angles and five teeth, deciduous 
 by breaking off from its base. Corolla funnel 
 shaped with a long tube, five angled, its margin 
 waved and folded, and terminating in five acumi- 
 nate teeth. Stamens growing to the tube by their 
 filaments, with oblong erect anthers. Germ su- 
 perior, hairy with tlie rudiments of spines, ovate ; 
 style as long as the stamens ; stigma obtuse^ 
 parted at base. Capsule ovate, fleshy, covered 
 with thorns, four valved, four celled, opening at 
 top. Seeds numerous, reniform, black, attached 
 to a longitudinal receptacle, which occupies the 
 centre of each cell. 
 
 At least two distinct varieties of Datura Stra-> 
 monium are common in the United States. One 
 
20 DATURA STRAMONIUM. 
 
 of these has a green stalk and white flowers, and 
 agrees with the figures of Sowerhj and Woodville, 
 except that the anthers are somewhat longer and 
 the dissepiment of the capsule thinner. The sec- 
 ond variety, the one represented in our figure, 
 has a dark reddish stem, minutely dotted with 
 green ; and purple flowers striped with deep pur- 
 ple inside. It is generally a larger plant, and its 
 stem more universally hollow. This variety is 
 probably the D. tatula of Linnseus, answering to 
 the description in the Species plantarum. The 
 distinguishing marks laid down between the two 
 plants are not sufficient to make them distinct 
 species. I have cultivated both together and 
 watched them throughout their growth, without 
 being able to detect any difference except in col- 
 our. Their sensible and medical properties are 
 the same. Sir James Edward Smith has lately 
 informed me, that on consulting the herbarium of 
 Linnseus, the original specimens of D. Stramoni- 
 um and tatula did not appear to be more than va- 
 rieties of the same plant. [JVofe B.] 
 
 Every part of the Stramonium, when recent, 
 has a strong, heavy, disagreeable odour, and a 
 bitter, nauseous taste. Taken internally it proves 
 a violent narcotic poison, affecting the mind and 
 body in the most powerful manner. Its usual 
 
THORN APPLE. 31 
 
 consequences when swallowed in considerable 
 quantity, are vertigo and confusion of mind, in- 
 sensibility of the retina, occasioning dilatation of 
 the pupil and loss of sight, tremors of the limbs 
 and loss of the power of voluntary motion, head- 
 ach, dryness of the throat, nausea and vomiting, 
 anxiety and faintness, and sometimes furious de- 
 lirium. If the amount taken be large and not 
 speedily ejected from the stomach, the symptoms 
 pass into convulsions or lethargic stupor, which 
 continue till death. When not fatal, its effects, 
 like those of other narcotics, are temporary, dis- 
 appearing in from one to two days, and frequent- 
 ly in a shorter period. — The remedies to be re- 
 sorted to in cases of poison from Stramonium, are 
 a prompt emetic, followed by a free use of vegeta- 
 ble acids and strong coffee. 
 
 Many stories have been related of the power 
 of this and other species of Datura to produce 
 mental alienation, without at the same time ma- 
 terially affecting the body. [JVbfe C] These ac- 
 counts are generally of somewhat ancient date, and 
 not correspondent with the observations of later 
 physicians. They were suited to those days of 
 credulity, in which the Eoyal Society of London 
 gravely inquired of Sir Philberto Vernatti, "Wheth- 
 er the Indians can ^ so prepare the stupifyin.c^^ 
 
22 DATURA STRAMONIUM. 
 
 herb Datura, tliat they make it lie several days, 
 months, or years, according as they will have it, 
 in a man's body ; and at the end kill him with- 
 out missing half an hour's time ?" 
 
 Like opium and like other powerful medi- 
 cines, this plant, when taken in small quantity, 
 and under suitable regulations, proves a remedy 
 of importance, and a useful agent in the hands of 
 physicians. In common with some other narco- 
 tics, it seems first to have been introduced freely 
 into practice by Baron Storck of Vienna, as a rem- 
 edy in Mania, Epilepsy, Convulsions, ^c. Many 
 subsequent physicians have given testimony to its 
 efficacy in certain forms of these disorders, yet the 
 instances of its failure have doubtless been more 
 frequent than those of its success. In Murray's 
 Apparatus Medicaminum may be found a sum- 
 mary of the reports of many medical men, who 
 have tried it with various success in the diseases 
 in question, as well as in others. Dr. CuUen has 
 no doubt that it may be a remedy in certain ca- 
 ses of mania and epilepsy ; but doubts if any per- 
 son has learned to distinguish the cases to which 
 it is properly adapted. 
 
 Dr. Fisher, President of the Massachusetts 
 Medical Society, has published in theu* communi- 
 cations some remarks on the employment of Stra- 
 
THORN APPLE. 23 
 
 inonium in epilepsy. He divides the cases of 
 that disease into tliree kinds ; tliose of which the 
 fits return daily ; those in which they recur at 
 regular periods, as monthly, or give warning of 
 their approach by previous symptoms ; lastly, 
 those in which they do not observe any regular 
 period, and do not give any warning of their ap- 
 proach. In the two first kinds he asserts, that all 
 the cases which came under his care, and which 
 were not very few, had been cured by Stramoni- 
 um. In those of the third kind he found it of no 
 benefit whatever. 
 
 Dr. Archer of Maryland has formed distinc- 
 tions nearly similar in the application of Stramo- 
 nium to epilepsy. 
 
 In a case of Tic doloureux of loner standing I 
 found the extract, taken in as large doses as the 
 stomach would bear, to afford decided relief. Sev- 
 eral practitioners have spoken to me of its effica- 
 cy in this formidable disease. It should be ta- 
 ken in large doses, and the system kept for some 
 time under its influence. 
 
 Within a few years, the thorn apple has at- 
 tracted much notice, both in Europe and in this 
 country, as an efficacious palliative in Asthma 
 and some other affections of the lungs, when used 
 by smoking, in the same manner as tobacco. 
 
24f DATURA STRAMONIUM. 
 
 The practice was first suggested by the employ- 
 ment of another species, the Datura ferooo^ for 
 similar complaints, in the East Indies. An En- 
 glish gentleman, having exhausted the stock with 
 which he had been supplied of the oriental plant, 
 was advised by Dr. Sims to have recourse to the 
 common Stramonium as a substitute ; and upon 
 trial, experienced the same benefit as he had done 
 from the former species. This instance of suc- 
 cess led to further trials, and in a short time sev- 
 eral publications appeared, containing cases of 
 great relief afforded by smoking this plant in the 
 paroxysms of Asthma. Many individuals, of dif- 
 ferent ages, habits, and constitutions, had used it 
 with the effect of producing immediate relief, and 
 of terminating the paroxysm in a short time. 
 The efiicacy however of this medicine was called 
 in question by Dr. Bree, a physician well known 
 by his elaborate treatise on Asthma, who publish- 
 ed in the Medical and Physical Journal a letter, 
 containing the result of a great number of unsuc- 
 cessful trials of Stramonium in asthmatic cases. 
 It may be doubted whether any other physician 
 has been so unfortunate in its use as Dr. Bree, 
 since he affirms tliat not one case of those under 
 his care was benefitted by it. Certain it is, that in 
 this country the thorn apple is employed with 
 
THOBN APPLE. gg 
 
 very frequent success by asthmatic patients, and 
 It would not be diffictdt to designate a dozen indi- 
 viduals in Boston and its vicinity, who are in the 
 habit of employing it with unfailing relief in the 
 paroxysms of tliis distressing complaint. The ca- 
 ses, which it is fitted to reliere, are those of pure 
 spasmodic asthma, in which it doubtless acts by 
 its sedative and antispasmodic effects. In those 
 depending upon effusion of serum in the lungs, 
 or upon the presence of exciting causes in the' 
 first passages, or elsewhere, requiring to be 
 removed ; it must not be expected that remedies 
 of th,s class can afford benefit. In several cases 
 of plethoric and intemperate people, I have 
 tound It fad altogether, and venesection after- 
 wards to give speedy relief. 
 
 The part of the plant, which I have employed 
 for smoking, is the leaf prepared in the same way 
 as tobacco. The root, which has commonly been 
 the part used, is more woody and fibrous, and pos- 
 sesses less of the juices of the plant, than its 
 more pulpy and succulent parts. The root also, 
 bemg strictly annual, has no opportunity to accu- 
 mulate the virtues of the plant, beyond any other 
 part. 
 
 In the seventh volume of the Medico-Chirur- 
 gical Transactions, for 1816, is a paper on tlse 
 
 4 
 
S6 DATURA STRAMONIUM. 
 
 properties of the Stramonium by Dr. Marcet of 
 London, Physician to Guy's Hospital. As the 
 result of his experience, it appeared that this 
 medicine taken internally had relieved acute 
 pains of various kinds more effectually than any 
 other narcotic substance. Its usual effects under 
 his observation, when administered in appropriate 
 doses, in chronic diseases attended with acute 
 pain; were, to lessen powerfully and almost imme- 
 diately sensibility and pain ; to occasion a sort 
 of nervous shock, which is frequently attended 
 with a momentary affection of the head and eyes, 
 with a degree of nausea, and with phenomena re- 
 sembling those produced by intoxication ; to ex- 
 cite in many instances nervous sensations, which 
 are referred to the oesophagus or bronchise or fau- 
 ces, and which sometimes amount to a sense like 
 suffocation ; to have rather a relaxing, than an 
 astringent effect on the bowels ; to have no mark- 
 ed influence on the pulse, except in a few instan- 
 ces to seem to render it slower ; to produce but 
 a transitory and inconsiderable dilatation of the 
 pupil, and to have but little immediate tendency 
 to produce sleep, except from the state of com- 
 parative serenity and ease, which follows the pre- 
 ceding symptoms.' — In some instances its bene- 
 ficial effects were obtained without the ]>atient 
 experiencing any of the uneasy sensations above 
 mentioned. 
 
THORN APPLE. gi^ 
 
 The cases in which Dr. Marcet employed the 
 Stramonium, with their results, appear in the fol- 
 lowing summary. In four cases of Sciatica, decide 
 ed benefit was obtained. The efficacy of the med- 
 icine was still more strongly marked in two cases 
 of sciatica combined with syphilitic pains. It 
 failed in two instances of diseased hip joint. It 
 produced considerable relief of pain in a case of 
 supposed disease of the spine, followed hj para» 
 plegia I and likewise in one of cancer of the 
 breast. It allayed materially the pain occasioned 
 hy an acute uterine disease. It was of great and 
 repeated utility in a case of Tie doloureux, its utlL 
 ity in a second case of the same description was 
 Tery doubtful, and in a third it entirely failed. 
 
 There are some authorities for the success of 
 Stramonium in Chorea. Professor Chapman of 
 Philadelphia has found it of use in dysmenorrhea, 
 also with or without mercury in syphilitic and 
 scrophulous ulcers of ill condition. 
 
 The external use of Stramonium is of mucli 
 older date than its internal exhibition. Gerarde 
 in his Herbal, published in 1597, says, "The 
 iuyce of Thorne apples, boiled with hog's grease 
 to the forme of an unguent or salye, cureth ail in. 
 flammations whatsoever, all manner of burnings or 
 Bcaldings, and that in yery short time, as mv^ 
 
28 DATURA STRAMONIUM. 
 
 self liaye found by my dayly practise, to my great 
 credit and profit." Others, since the time of Ge- 
 rarde, have used this preparation, if not with the 
 same gratifying success, at least with some bene- 
 fit as an anodyne, sedative application. It miti- 
 gates the pain in burns and inflammatory tumors, 
 and promotes the cure of certain cutaneous erup- 
 tions. In some irritable ulcers with thickened 
 edges and a sanious discharge^ I have found it re- 
 markably efficacious in changing the condition 
 and promoting the granulations and cicatrization. 
 In painful hemorrhoidal tumors the ointment of 
 Stramonium with the ointment of acetate of lead 
 gives, in many cases, very prompt and satisfacto- 
 ry relief, being in this respect inferior to no ap- 
 plication, with which I have been acquainted. 
 
 Applied topically to the eye, the preparations 
 of Stramonium diminish the sensibility of the re- 
 tina, and relax the iris. From this effect it is 
 employed by many surgeons to dilate the pupil, 
 as preparatory to the operation for cataract. 
 
 The virtues of Stramonium appear to be seat- 
 ed in an extractive principle, which dissolves in 
 water and alcohol, but most readily in the for- 
 mer. It is copiously precipitated from the infu- 
 sion by muriate of tin. With sulphate of iron it 
 gives a deep green colour, and with gelatin suf- 
 
THORN APPLE. ^9 
 
 fers no change. Water distilled from the plant 
 has the sensible qualities in a slight degree, but 
 does not seem to possess the medicinal po>yers of 
 the plant. Dr. S. Cooper, in a valuable disserta- 
 tion on this plant, sajs, that an ounce of the dis- 
 tilled water was taken into the stomach with little 
 or no effect. The same gentleman states, that 
 upon evaporating the infusion of Stramonium, he 
 observed a large number of minute crystals, re- 
 sembling particles of nitre. Thinking it possible 
 that these might be something analogous to the 
 crystals, said to be obtained by Derosne from opi- 
 um, and by him denominated the narcotic princi- 
 ple, I repeated the experiment by carefully evap- 
 orating separate decoctions of the green and dri- 
 ed leaves. No crystals however were discovera- 
 ble at any stage of the process, either to the 
 touch, or to the eye assisted by a strong magni- 
 fier. 
 
 The forms in which the Stramonium is prepar- 
 ed for use are the powder, the inspissated juice, 
 the extract, the tincture and the ointment. The 
 powder should be made as soon as the plant is 
 dry, and kept in close stojjped bottles. — The in- 
 spissated juice is made by compressing the bruis- 
 ed leaves in a strong bag, until the juice is forced 
 out. This is to be evaporated in flat vessels at 
 
30 DATURA STRAMONIUM. 
 
 the heat of boiling salt water to the thickness of 
 honey ; it is then suffered to cool, put tip in glaz- 
 ed vessels and moistened with alcohol. The ecC' 
 tract is prepared by immersing a pound of the 
 leaves in three gallons of water and boiling down 
 to one. The decoction should then be strained 
 and stand six hours to settle, after which it may 
 be drawn off and evaporated to the proper consis- 
 tence. When the seeds are used, the decoction 
 should stand a longer time to separate the oil with 
 which the cotyledons abound, before evaporation. 
 A larger amount of extract may be obtained by 
 boiling the portion, which has been used, a se- 
 cond time in a smaller quantity of water, and 
 mixing the two decoctions before evaporation. 
 For the tincture one ounce of the dried leaves is 
 to be digested for a week in eight ounces of proof 
 spirit, and filtrated through paper. In making 
 the ointment, a pound of the fresh leaves may be 
 simmered in three pounds of hog's lard until the 
 leaves become crisp. It is then to be strained? 
 and cooled gradually. 
 
 The period for gathering the leaves is from 
 the time the plant begins to flower, until the ar- 
 rival of frost. 
 
 As the preparations of Stramonium are liable 
 to vary in strength according to the circumstances 
 
 ^ 
 
THORN APPLE. 31 
 
 under which they are made, it is always prudent 
 to begin with the smallest dose, and repeat it 
 about three times a day, increasing each dose un- 
 til the effects begin to appear in the stomach or 
 head. 
 
 The commencing doses of the Stramonium, 
 when properly prepared, are as follows. 
 Of the powdered leaves 1 grain, 
 
 powdered seeds |- a grain, 
 
 inspissated juice or extract 1 grain, 
 extract of the seeds from ^ to j- grain, 
 
 tincture from 15 to 20 
 
 drops. 
 
 BOTANICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 Datura Stramonium, Linn^us Sp, pi. Fl, Suec. 185 «^c.— ^^ 
 Gronovius Fl. Virg. 23. — GEdek. Fl. Danica 436. — Black- 
 WELi. t. 313. — Gmeiin Iter i. 43. — Poliich. Palatin. 224. — 
 HoFFMAiSTV Germ. 77. — Roth Fl. Germ. i. 92 Sfc. — WooDvrLLE 
 t. 124, — Curtis Lond. vi. t. 17. — Smith Fl. Brit. 254. — Engl. 
 Bot. t. 1288. — ^PuRSH Amer. 141.— Ei^iott Carol, i. 275.— 
 Stramonium foliis angulosis &c. Hailer Helv. 586. Nuci metel- 
 Ix congener planta, Camerarius Epitome 276. — Solanum foeti- 
 da porno spinoso, oblongo, &c. BAUHiN^iw. 168. — Sti'amonium 
 spinosum, Gerarbe Herbal 348. 
 
 MEDICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 Storck de Stramonio Sfc. — Lindenstolpe devenenis, 531.— 
 Sauvages JVosoL 2. 430. — Gredikg in Liidwigs Adversaria i. 
 345. — Murray App.Med.i.670. — Cvjj^n Mat. Med. i'l. 281. — 
 Fowler in Med. Comment, y. 161. — Odhelius cii. m J^/ei. Com- 
 ment v. 161 i- — Papin" in Phil. Trans, abr. vi. 53. — Rush inFkilad. 
 
S2 iiATURA STRAMONIUM. 
 
 Trans, i. 384. — Sclioepf. 24. — Wedenberg in Med. Comment 
 iii.l8. — ^Beverly, Hist. Virg.y. 121. — Medical and Physical 
 Journal, vol. xxv. & xxvi. in various places. Cooper in CaldiveWs 
 Theses, vol. i. — Earto^, Coll. Mat. Med. 46. — Chapman in edit, 
 Murray 146. — Thatcher, Disp, 205. — Marcet Medico-Chi-^ 
 rur. Trans, vir. 
 
 PLATE I. 
 
 Fig. 1, »i branch of Datura Stramoniumf the purple variety f with 
 leaves and fiowers. 
 
 Fig. 2. Stamens and style. 
 
 Fig. 3. Transverse section of the pericarp, shewing the cellSf re- 
 ceptacles and seeds. 
 

 J-u^.J/. 
 
 (^"L/i-a/cKfia^m yi^^y^^/c'^^ ^^^ ^^^ 
 
EUPATOEIUM PEBFOLIATUM. 
 
 Thorough wort 
 
 PLJITE 11. 
 
 ± HE peculiar form and arrangement of the 
 leaves in this plant render it very easy of distinc- 
 tion at sight by the most inexperienced botanist. 
 It flowers from midsummer to September, and is 
 found in all latitudes from Nova Scotia to Florida. 
 It inhabits meadows and boggy soils, growing 
 most frequently in bunches, the stems being con- 
 nected by horizontal roots. Its common names 
 are Thorough tvort, Thorough wacc^ Cross wort, 
 Bone set, ^c. 
 
 The genus Eupatorium, belonging to the first 
 order of the class Syngenesia or Compound flow- 
 ers, and to the order Corymbifer^e of Jussieu, is 
 characterized by its naked receptacle, its down 
 simple or rough, its calya^ ohiong and imbricate^ 
 5 
 
34 EUPATORUM PERFOLIATUM, 
 
 its style longer than the corolla, and cloven half 
 way down. The species perfoliatum, exclusively 
 an inhabitant of America, is abundantly distin- 
 guished from the rest, by the peculiar form of its 
 leaves, indicated in its name. Michaux has alter- 
 ed the specific name to connatum I think injudi- 
 ciously. 
 
 The stems of this plant are erect, round, hairy 
 branched at top only. The leaves, which are per- 
 forated by the stem, are rather perfoliate than 
 connate, since thev have not the character of two 
 leaves joined together, but of one entire leaf, hav- 
 ing its four principal veins proceeding at right an- 
 gles from the four quarters of the stem, two of 
 them being situated in the place of the supposed 
 junction. The upper leaves however are gener- 
 ally divided into pairs. The main leaves are 
 acuminate, decreasing gradually in breadth from 
 the stem, where they are widest, to the extremities. 
 They are serrated, wrinkled, pale underneath, and 
 hairy, especially on the veins. Flowers in corymbs 
 with hairy peduncles. Calyx cylindrical, imbri- 
 cate, the scales lanceolate, acute, hairy. Each ca- 
 lyx contains about twelve or fifteen florets, which 
 are tubular, with fine spreading segments, and sur- 
 rounded with a rough down. The stamens in each 
 consist of five soft filaments, with blackish anthers 
 
THOROUGH WORT. 35 
 
 united with a tube. Style filiform, divided into 
 two branches, which project above the flower. 
 Seeds oblong on a naked receptacle. 
 
 Every part of the Eupatorium has an intense- 
 ly bitter taste, combined with a flavour peculiar to 
 the plant, but without astringency or acrimony. 
 The leaves and flowers abound in a bitter extrac- 
 tive matter, in which the important qualities of 
 the plant seem to reside. I find this principle to 
 be alike soluble in water and alcohol, imparting its 
 sensible qualities to both, and neither solution be- 
 ing rendered turbid, at least for some time, by the 
 addition of the other solvent. It forms copious pre- 
 cipitates withmany of the metallic salts, such as mu- 
 riate of tin, nitrate of mercury, nitrate of silver, and 
 acetate of lead. Of the mineral acids, the sulphu- 
 ric and muriatic form slight precipitates with the 
 aqueous decoction ; the oxymuriatic, a more copi- 
 ous one ; the nitric, in my experiments, gave no 
 precipitate, but changed the colour to a red. In 
 the alcoholic solution the oxymuriatic alone form- 
 ed an immediate precipitate. Tannin exists very 
 sparingly in this plant. A solution of isinglass 
 produced a slight precipitate from the tincture, 
 and a hardly perceptible turbidness in separate 
 decoctions of the leaves and flowers. Sulphate 
 of iron gave a dark green precipitate, which par- 
 
36 ETJPATORIUM PERFOLIATUM. 
 
 tially subsided in a short time. — ^In distillation, 
 water came over very slightly affected with the 
 sensible qualities of the plant, and not alterable 
 by sulphate of iron, 
 
 A dissertation of merit on this plant was pub- 
 lished a few years since by Dr. Anderson of New 
 York, in which he gives the details of numerous 
 and elaborate chemical trials, made by him on dif- 
 ferent parts of the plant. He concludes, among 
 other things, from his experiments, that the ac- 
 tive properties of the plant reside in greatest 
 quantity in the leaves, and that its virtues are 
 readily obtained by means of a simple decoction. 
 The medical powers of Eupatorium are such 
 as its sensible properties would seem to indicate, 
 those of a tonic stimulant. Given in moderate 
 quantities, either in substance or in cold infusion 
 or decoction, it promotes digestion, strengthens 
 the viscera, and restores tone to the system. Like 
 other vegetable bitters, if given in large quantities, 
 especially in warm infusion or decoction, it 
 proves emetic, sudorific, and aperient. Even in 
 cold infusion it tends to bring on diaphoresis. 
 
 This plant has been long in use in different 
 parts of the United States, for the same purposes 
 for which the Peruvian bark. Gentian, Chamomile, 
 ^'c. are employed. It has been found competent 
 
THOROUGH WORT. 37 
 
 to the cure of intermittent fevers by yarioiis prac- 
 titioners in the middle and southern states. Dr. 
 Anderson has detailed six cases of intermittents, 
 quotidian, tertian, and quartan, out of a large 
 number which had been successfully treated with- 
 in his own observation by the Eupatorium both 
 in substance and decoction. In these cases the 
 cures were certainly expeditious, and took place 
 at as early a period as could have been expected 
 from arsenic or the Peruvian bark. Dr. A. cites 
 the experience of several distinguished practi- 
 tioners, particularly Dr. Hosack of Xew York 
 and the late Dr. Barton of Philadelphia, in con- 
 firmation of his own, to shew that the Eupatorium 
 is an efficacious remedy in the treatment of va- 
 rious febrile disorders, also of many cutaneous 
 affections, and diseases of general debility. 
 
 I have prescribed an infusion of the Euj)ato- 
 rium in various instances to patients in the low 
 stages of fever, where it has appeared instrumen- 
 tal in supporting the strength and promoting a 
 moisture of the skin, without materially increas- 
 ing the heat of the bod} . I have also found the 
 cold infusion or decqction a serviceable tonic in 
 loss of appetite and other symptoms of dyspepsia, 
 as well as in general debility of the system. 
 
S8 EUPATORIUM PERFOLIATUM. 
 
 The warm infusion is a convenient substitute 
 for that of chamomile flowers in facilitating the 
 operation of an emetic. 
 
 When employed as a tonic, this plant may be 
 taken in powder in doses of twenty or thirty 
 grains, or a teacup full may be used of the infu- 
 sion, rendered moderately bitter. When intend- 
 ed to act as an emetic, a strong decoction may be 
 made from an ounce of the plant in a quart of 
 water, boiled to a pint, 
 
 BOTANICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 Eupatorium perfoliatum, Linst-eus, Sp. pi. — ^Aitoiv, Hort, 
 Kew. iii. 160. — Wixidenow, Sp, pi. iii. 1761. — Gronovius, 
 Virg. 119. — CoiDEN-, JVbrefior. 181. — Stokes, iv. 171. — Pursh, 
 ii. 516. — Eupatorium connatum, Michatjx, Fl. Amer. ii. 99.— 
 Eupatorium Virginianum, &c. — Pi.UKE]>rET, t. 87. f. 6.< — Raius, 
 suppl. 189. — Moris ON, hist. iii. 97. 
 
 MEDICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 ScHOEPF 121. — GuTHEiE in Jlnnal. Med. iii. 403. — Bart. 
 Coll. 28. — Med. and Phtjs. JbwniaZ.— Thacher Disp, 217. — An- 
 derson, Inaugural Thesis, 
 
 PLATE II. 
 
 Fig. 1. Eupatorium perfoliatum. 
 
 Fig. 2. A Jiower magnified. 
 
 Fig. S. Jl fioret magnified. 
 
 Fig. 4. Tii&e of anthers with the style running through. 
 
fl'f//f'^/''f 
 
PHYTOLACCA DECANDRA. 
 
 Poke, 
 
 PLATE III, 
 
 JbROM tlie testimony of different writers it 
 appearSjthattlie Phytolacca decandra is an inhab- 
 itant not only of North America, but likewise of 
 the south of Europe from Portugal to Greece, and 
 also of the Barbary states in Africa. Its origin 
 is probably American, since I find that it was so 
 considered in the time of Parkinson, who in his 
 Theatrum Botanicum, published in 1640, de- 
 nominates it " Solanum magnum Yirginianum ru- 
 brum." This is one of the oldest accounts I find 
 of it. Plukenet conjectures it may be the Cuechi- 
 liz tomatl of Hernandez, but the description, like 
 most otliers of that loose and superficial writer, 
 are more promotive of obscurity than of knowledge, 
 and it is not easy to draw from it any satisfactory 
 evidence as to its Mexican origin. [JS^ote D.] 
 
40 PHYTOLACCA DEC AND RA. 
 
 In the autumnal months no plant among us is 
 more remarkable than the Phytolacca for its large 
 size, and the fine coloui' of its clusters of berries. 
 Its most general appellation is Foke, an abbrevia- 
 tion, perhaps, of Pocaii, the name by which it was 
 known in Virginia a century ago. In Xew Eng- 
 land it is more frequently called Garget, Cocum^ 
 Jalap and Pigeon berries. 
 
 Jussieu has arranged this genus among his 
 Jltriplices, and Linnseus with the Oleracem. 
 
 The number of its stems and styles, place it in 
 the class Becandria and order Becagynia. Its 
 generic character consists in having no calyx, a 
 corolla of jive petals, and its berries superior with 
 ten cells and ten seeds. The species decandra is 
 the only one which strictly agrees with its class 
 and order, and is known by having ovate leaves, 
 acute at both ends, and itsjiowers with ten stamens 
 and styles. 
 
 The root of this plant is of large size, frequent- 
 ly exceeding a man's leg in thickness, and is usu- 
 ally divided into two or three principal branches. 
 Its substance is fleshy and fibrous, and easily cut 
 or broken. Internally it is distinctl)^ marked with 
 concentric rings of considerable thickness, while 
 its outer surface is covered Avith a very thin brown- 
 ish bark, which seems to be little more than a cu- 
 
I'OKE* 41 
 
 tide. The stalks, which are annual, frequently 
 grow to the height of six, and even nine feet. 
 They are round, smooth, and very much branch- 
 ed. When young, their usual colour is green, 
 but in most plants, after the berries have ripened, 
 they are of a fine purple. The leaves are scatter- 
 ed, petioled, ovate-oblong, smooth on both sides, 
 ribbed underneath, entire, acute. The flowers 
 grow on long pedunculated racemes opposite to 
 leaves. Peduncles nearly smooth, angular, as- 
 cending. Pedicels divaricated, sometimes branch- 
 ed, green, white, or purple, furnished with a small 
 linear bracte at base, and two others in the mid- 
 dle. Calyx none. Corolla resembling a calyx, 
 whitish, consisting of five round-ovate, concave, 
 incurving petals. Stamens ten, rather shorter 
 than the petals, with white, roundish, two lobed 
 anthers. Germ greenish, round, depressed, ten 
 furrowed. Styles ten, short, recurved. The flow- 
 ers are succeeded by long clusters of dark purple 
 berries, almost black, depressed or flattened, and 
 marked with ten furrows on the sides. 
 
 The dried root is light coloured and spongy, 
 with a mild and somewhat sweetish taste. A part 
 of it is soluble both in water and alcohol, and nei- 
 ther of these substances renders turbid the solu- 
 tion in the other, unless the solution has been in- 
 
 6 
 
4S PHYTOLACCA DECANDRA. 
 
 spissatedby long boiling. The soluble portion ap- 
 pears neither resinous nor mucous. It approach- 
 es most nearly to extractive, but has characters 
 somewhat peculiar to itself. A decoction of the 
 root procured by boiling for ten minutes in dis- 
 tilled water, exhibited after filtration the follow- 
 ing results. It was transparent, nearly colourless, 
 and did not alter litmus. It gave no precipitate 
 with the sulphuric, nitric, muriatic, oxy muriatic, 
 and acetous acids. It gave no precipitate with the 
 sulphate of iron, but formed a copious one with 
 the nitrates of mercury and silver, and the ace- 
 tate of lead. Muriate of tin produced no effect at 
 first, but after standing, a liglit precipitate took 
 place. Pearl ash, lime water, and muriate of ba- 
 rytes rendered the solution turbid. Acetate of 
 barytes occasioned no change. Oxymuriate of 
 lime formed an immediate precipitate. 
 
 The cold infusion exhibited nearly the same 
 results as the decoction. The alcoholic solution 
 underwent no change from muriate of tin, but 
 threw down a dense precipitate with nitrate of 
 mercury. 
 
 From the above experiments it appears, that 
 the soluble principle of the Phytolacca differs 
 from common vegetable extractive, as defined by 
 the chemists, in several respects, particularly in 
 
POKE. 
 
 not being thrown down by the oxymnriatic or 
 other mineral acids, and in being but partially 
 affected by muriate of tin. 
 
 In the Jlnnales de Cliimie, vol. Ixxii, is a me- 
 moir on the Chemical properties of the Phyto- 
 lacca decandra by M. Braconnot. His experi- 
 ments indicate the presence of an unusual quan- 
 tity of vegetable alkali in this plant. He found 
 that the ashes, procured by incinerating the stalks, 
 afforded nearly 67 per cent, of dried alkaline car- 
 bonate, and 43 per cent, of pure caustic potash^ 
 This alkali in the plant is neutralized by an acid 
 having considerable affinity to tlie malic, but 
 with a few shades of difference. With lime and 
 lead malic acid forms flocculent precipitates, very 
 easily soluble in distilled vinegar, but those with 
 the phytolaccic acid are insoluble. M. Hracon- 
 not thinks this acid may probably be a mean be- 
 tween the malic and oxalic acids, or an oxygeniz- 
 ed malic acid. 
 
 The same memoir contains an examination of 
 the colouring matter in the berries of the Phyto- 
 lacca. The juice of these berries is of a very 
 fine, bright purple colour, but this colour is ex- 
 tremely fugacious and disappears in a short time 
 from cloth or pnper that has been tinged with it» 
 A few drops of lime water added to this purple 
 
44? PHYTOLACCA DEC AND RA. 
 
 juice change it to a yellow colour, but the small- 
 est quantity of acid is sufficient to restore its pur- 
 ple hue. Exposure to the air or large dilu- 
 tions is sufficient to restore the original purple. 
 
 M, Braconnot considers the yellow liquor pro- 
 duced by the juice of these berries and lime wa- 
 ter as one of the most delicate tests of tlie pres- 
 ence of acid. Into two glasses he put equal 
 quantities of the juice made yellow and of an in- 
 fusion of litmus of equal depth of colour. More 
 than sixty drops of a very weak acid were required 
 to redden the infusion of litmus, but less than fif- 
 teen restored the purple colour of the Phytolacca. 
 Hence it follows, that the yellow liquor is four 
 times as sensible to the presence of acid, as the 
 infusion of litmus. It however requires to be us- 
 ed immediately after it is prepared, since a few 
 hours cause a spontaneous change in it, which be- 
 gins with a precipitate, and ends with a depriva- 
 tion of colour. 
 
 The effects produced on this purple colour hy 
 other reagents were as follows. Pure alkalis gave 
 it a yellow colour. Alkaline subcarbonates a vio- 
 let, that fades and becomes yellow by standing. 
 Weak acids no perceptible change. Dilute oxy- 
 muriatic acid a complete deprivation of colour 
 with white fiocculi. Alum nothing at first, but 
 
POKE. 40 
 
 after some days, a very liglit red precipitate. Mu- 
 riate of lime no change. Muriate of tin a red se- 
 diment inclining to lilac, leaving the fluid colour- 
 less. Mtrate of lead a precipitate of the colour 
 of wine lees. Super oxided sulphate of iron, a 
 dirty violet. 
 
 Many of the above experiments I have repeat- 
 ed, and added others. The yellow colour produc- 
 ed by the alkalis borders on green. Pure stron- 
 tian produces the same change as potash and 
 lime. Pure barytes wholly discharges the colour 
 on standing a short time. Acetate of lead forms 
 a scarlet precipitate, leaving the liquid nearly col- 
 ourless. 
 
 The purple colour that tinges the cuticle of 
 the stalks of the Phytolacca is stated in the above 
 memoir, to be of the same nature as that in the 
 berries, and to afford the same results. 
 
 The taste of the berries is sweetish and nause- 
 ous, leaving behind a very slight sense of acrimo- 
 ny. M. Braconnot, found tliat at a moderate tem- 
 perature, the juice underwent the vinous fermen- 
 tation, and yielded alcohol by distillation. Dr. 
 Shultz procured from half a bushel of the berries 
 six pints of spirit sufficiently strong to take fire 
 and burn with readiness. 
 
46 PHYTOLACCA DECANDRA. 
 
 In its medicinal properties the root of the Phy- 
 tohicca decandra approaches nearer to ipecac- 
 uanha than any American vegetable, I have hith- 
 erto examined. From abundant experience, the 
 result of many trials made in Dispensary practice, 
 I am satisfied that, when properly prepared, it 
 operates in the same doses and with the same cer- 
 tainty, as the South American emetic. Ten grains 
 of the powder will rarely remain on the stomach, 
 and twenty or thirty produce a powerful operation, 
 by emesis and generally by catharsis. In its mode 
 of operation, this medicine has some peculiarities, 
 a part of which are favorable, others disadvanta- 
 geous. Its advantages are, that it operates with 
 ease, and seldom occasions pain or cramp. Its dis- 
 advantages are, 1. That it is slow in its effects, 
 frequently not beginning to operate until an 
 hour, and sometimes two hours after it is taken, 
 2, That it continues to operate for a greater 
 length of time than is usual for emetics, although 
 as far as I have been able to observe, it is readily 
 checked by an opiate. Tliese disadvantages how- 
 ever are not constant. I have repeatedly known 
 it commence operating in fifteen minutes, and 
 cease after four or five ejections. The represen- 
 tations of patients as to any unpleasant feelings 
 under its effects, are not greater than we should 
 
POKE, 4^ 
 
 naturally expect, when it is recollected, tliat no 
 emetic is altogether comfortable in its operation. 
 Dr. Fisher of Beverly* informs me that whenever 
 he has used the Phytolacca, it has performed its 
 duty as an emetic perfectly well, and that in one 
 patient, a female of irritable stomach, in whom 
 previous emetics had always excited severe 
 spasms, ten grains of the Phytolacca operated ef- 
 fectually, and no spasm followed. 
 
 I have sometimes observed slight narcotic 
 symptoms during the operation of Phytolacca, 
 particularly vertigo. But others have not always 
 met with this symptom. Br. George Hayward of 
 this town, who has had much experience with this 
 medicine, the results of which were communicat- 
 ed to the Linn^an society, and afterwards publish- 
 ed in the New Eugland Journal, October 1817, 
 states that in doses of a scruple, he never notic- 
 ed any dizziness, or stupor from it, although he 
 had always been particular in his inquiries to 
 know if any such symptoms took place. The 
 above dose was administered by him in nearly 
 thirty cases, in all of which, except in one case, it 
 operated as an emetic and cathartic, usually three 
 or four times, tlioroughly, though not severely, 
 generally commencing its operation on the stom- 
 
 * Letter dated Novemberj 1815. 
 
48 PHYTOLACCA DECANDRA. 
 
 ach in an lioui% and rarely continuing longer than 
 four. He found it to excite little or no nausea 
 preyious to its operation, and though it made a 
 powerful impression on the system, it never pro- 
 duced any disagreeable or unusual symptoms. 
 
 Dr. Hayward also made trial of the powder of 
 the leaves, which he found to possess the same 
 properties with that of the root, hut to be less ef- 
 fectual and less certain in its operation. He al- 
 so prepared a tincture^ decoction, and wine of the 
 root ; hut all these were inferior to the medicine 
 in substance, being less certain in their effect, and 
 sometimes giving rise to troublesome symptoms. 
 
 Dr. Shultz of Pennsylvania, author of an in- 
 augural dissertation on the Phytolacca decandra, 
 gave the expressed juice of the leaves, berries, 
 and roots, in considerable quantity to animals. It 
 operated by emesis and catharsis, attended with 
 drowsiness. The j nice of the root was most active. 
 He also gave to a dog two ounces of the spiritous 
 liquor distilled from the berries. It occasioned 
 nausea and drowsiness, with slight spasmodic mo- 
 tions, but no vomiting. 
 
 In the same dissertation, Dr. Shultz refers to 
 several instances of persons who had incautiously 
 eaten large quantities of the root through mistake. 
 Its effects were violent vomiting and pui^ging. 
 
POKE. 49 
 
 prostration of strength, and in some instances 
 convulsions. 
 
 The Phytolacca has had some reputation in 
 the treatment of rheumatism, Dr, Griffits, for- 
 merly a professor in the University of Pennsylva- 
 nia, found it of great use in Syphilitic rheumatism. 
 Dr. Hay ward however states, that he derived no 
 advantage from its employment in rheumatic af- 
 fections. 
 
 The young shoots of this vegetable are desti- 
 tute of medicinal qualities, and are eaten in the 
 spring in some parts of the United States, as sub- 
 stitutes for asparagus. At this time the succus 
 proprius or returning juice of the plant is not yet 
 formed by exposure of the sap to the atmospheric 
 air, in the leaves. The ripe berries are less nox- 
 ious than the green, and are devoured by several 
 species of birds. In Portugal and in France they 
 were formerly employed to improve the colour of 
 red wines, until the interference of government 
 became necessary to put a stop to the prac- 
 tice. 
 
 The external application of Phytolacca has 
 been found useful in a variety of cases, by its ac- 
 tion as a local stimulant. The ointment and ex- 
 tract have commonly been employed for this pur- 
 pose. These preparations usually excite a sense of 
 7 
 
50 PHYTOLACCA DECANDRA. 
 
 heat and smarting on being first applied. I have 
 cured cases of psora with the ointment, and Dr. 
 Hayward states, that he found it successful in cas- 
 es where sulphur had failed. A case of tinia 
 capitis of twelve years' standing, which had re- 
 sisted various kinds of treatment, was also cured 
 hj this application. 
 
 The Phytolacca is one of those vegetables 
 which has had its temporary reputation for the 
 cure of cancer. For this purpose it has been re- 
 sorted to in various parts of the world, and many 
 m^en of science have been convicts to its efficacy? 
 among whom were Dr. Colden and Dr. Franklin of 
 our country. [JSTote E.] But like other vegetable 
 specifics for cancer, it owes its character to an im- 
 perfect discrimination of that disease, and a mis- 
 application of the name. All that can be strictly 
 inferred from tbe various accounts we have had 
 on this subject, is, that the plant has often proved 
 useful in malignant ulcers by its stimulating and 
 almost escharotic eifects, frequently producing an 
 eschar, and thus altering the condition of the ul- 
 cerated surface. 
 
 For internal use no preparation of the Phyto- 
 lacca is to be preferred to the powder, of which 
 from ten to fifteen grains is often a sufficient 
 emetic. 
 
DRAGON ROOT. 51 
 
 The root should he dug late in autumn or dur- 
 ing the winter. It should he cut in transverse 
 slices and dried. After heing pulverized, it should 
 he kept in close stopped phials. The stock should 
 he annually renewed, as its activity is impaired by 
 age. 
 
 BOTANICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 Phytolacca decandra, Linn^us, sp.pl. — Aiton, JETor^ TCew. ii» 
 122. — Botanical Magaaine, t. 931. — Michatjx, Fl. Amer. i. 2r8„ 
 PuBSH. i. 324. — Phytolacca vulgaris, Diulenius, Hort. EUK 
 t. 239. — P. Americana — Boerhaave, Ho7't, Lug. ii. 70. — Solari- 
 um racemosum Americanum, Raius, Hist. 662. — Plukenetj, 
 Phyt, t. 225. /. 3. — Solanum magnum Virginianum rubrum^ 
 Paekinson, Theatrum, 347. — Blitura Americanum^ Muntibt- 
 Gius, Phyt. ciir. t. 212. 
 
 MEDICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 Murray, appar. med. iv. 335.^ — Kaim, travels in JV. Jlmer. i. 
 197. — Graffenreid, Mem. Berne, iii. 185. — Schcepf. 71.— ~ 
 Browne, Hist. Jamaica, 232. — Jimoen. Acad. iv. — Mlller, Dict-^ 
 under the name. — Sprogex. Biss. dr. ven. 24. — Beckman, com- 
 ment. Gotting, 1779, 74.-- Allioni, Flor. Fed. ii. 132.— Frank- 
 MN, works, vol. i. — Cutler, Mem. Amer. Acad. i. 447. — RusHj. 
 i. 259. — Thacher, Bisp. 300. — Shuitz, Inaugural thesis.-^ 
 Hayward, JV. Engl. Journal, vi. 
 
 PLATE III. 
 
 Fig. 1. Phytolacca decandra infioiver and infrvAL 
 
 Fig. 2, Section (^ a berry. 
 
AiaUM TRIPHYLLUM. 
 
 Dragon root. 
 
 PLATE IV. 
 
 It appears, that both !N"orth and South Amer- 
 ica give rise to this species of Arum, which is so 
 versatile in its constitution as to bear the winters 
 of Canada, and the perpetual summer of Brazil, 
 In its structure it is one of our most singular veg- 
 etables, and in colour one of the most variable. 
 It grows in swamps and damp shady woods, and is 
 universally known among us by the names of Dra- 
 gon root and Indian turnij). 
 
 The class to which the family of Arums be- 
 long, is rendered somewhat obscure by the varia- 
 tion of the species. Most botanists have placed 
 them in the class Monaecia, others in Polyandria, 
 The species under consideration is undoubtedly 
 Polygamous. In natural arrangements, the Arums 
 
Fu.jt: 
 
 /f///// /y//f//f///f//ff 
 
54) ARUM TRIPHYLLUM. 
 
 gether. In some it is wholly green, in otliera 
 dark purple or black. In most it is variegated, 
 as in our figuj-e, with pale greenish stripes on a 
 dark ground. The spadix is much shorter tlian 
 the spathe, club shaped, rounded at the end, 
 green, purple, black, or variegated, suddenly con- 
 tracted into a narrow neck at base, and surround- 
 ed below by the stamens or germs. In the bar- 
 ren plants, its base is covered with conical, flesby 
 filaments, bearing from two to four circular an- 
 thers each. In the fertile plants, it is invested 
 with roundish crowded germs, each tipt with a 
 stigma. Plants which are perfectly moncecious, 
 and which are the least common, have stamens 
 below the germs. There are also frequently 
 found irregular, reniform substances, much larger 
 than the anthers, of which they seem to be a dis- 
 ease. The upper part of the spadix withers with 
 the spathe, while the germs grow into a large 
 compact buncli of shining scarlet berries. 
 
 Every part of the Arum, and especially the 
 root, is violently acrid, and almost caustic. Ap- 
 plied to the tongue or to any secreting surface, it 
 produces an effect like that of Cayenne pepper, 
 but far more powerful, so much so, as to leave a 
 permanent soreness of many hours' continuance. 
 Of this any one may become satisfied by a simple 
 
DRAGON ROOT. 55 
 
 application of the root to his mouth. Its action 
 does not readily extend through the cuticle, since 
 the bruised root may be worn upon the external 
 skin until it becomes dry, without occasioning 
 pain or rubefaction. 
 
 The acrid property, which resides in tliis and 
 other species of Arum, appears to depend upon 
 a distinct vegetable principle in Chemistry, at 
 present but little understood. It is extremely 
 volatile, and disappears almost entirely by heat, 
 drying, or simple exposure to the air. I have en- 
 deavoured, with but partial success, to obtain it 
 in a separate state, or in any perceptible combina- 
 tion. The following were some of the methods 
 by which it was attempted. 
 
 Portions of the fresh contused root were sepa- 
 rately digested in water, in proof spirit, in alcohol, 
 in ether, in olive oil and in vinegar. The infu- 
 sions were tasted at different periods, but none of 
 them had acquiretl the least acrimony from the 
 plant. 
 
 The expressed juice of the root upon standing 
 one minute had lost all its pungency. 
 
 A quantity of the bruised root was placed in a 
 retort and covered with water. Heat was gradu- 
 ally applied, until a fluid began to collect in the 
 receiver. This fluid had the peculiar odour of 
 
56 ARUM TRIPHYLLUM, 
 
 the root, but was wholly without acrimony. The 
 same experiment was repeated with alcohol, and 
 vinegar, and afforded similar results. In every 
 case the liquid remaining in the retort was also 
 without pungency. 
 
 Some slices of the root were digested in proof 
 spirit in a close stopped phial. The portions of 
 root retained their acrimony at the end of soma 
 weeks, but had imparted none to the spirit. At 
 the end of two years, the root was examined and 
 found destitute of acrimony, as were also the 
 whole contents of the phial. 
 
 Suspecting that the acrid principle of this 
 plant must escape in form of gas during the pro- 
 cesses which have been mentioned, the fol- 
 lowing experiment was made. A quantity of the 
 bruised root and stalks were placed in a vessel of 
 water. A glass receiver was filled with water and 
 inverted over them, and sufficient heat applied to 
 raise the water nearly to the boiling point. From 
 the beginning of the process, bubbles of air con- 
 tinued to escape from the plant, and were collect- 
 ed in the upper part of tlie receiver. In the 
 course of half an hour, a considerable quantity of 
 permanent gas was obtainecL A part of this gas, 
 after cooling, was transferred to a phial, in which 
 was a small quantity of atmospheric aii\ On pre- 
 
BRAGON ROOT. 57 
 
 seating a lighted paper to the mouth of this phi- 
 al, it exploded with a very distinct report. An- 
 other portion of the gas was agitated with lime 
 water, which it rendered turhid. This circum- 
 stance was prohably owing to the mixture of car- 
 bonic acid disengaged from the plant, or from the 
 water by boiling. 
 
 From the above experiments, which circum- 
 stances did not permit me to pursue, it appears 
 that the acrimony of the Arum resides in a prin- 
 ciple having no affinity for water, alcohol, or oil, 
 being highly volatile, and, in a state of gas, in- 
 flammable. The products of its combustion, as 
 well as its other affinities, remain to be investi- 
 gated.* 
 
 The acrimony of the Arum when fresh is too 
 powerful to render its internal exhibition safe. 
 The roots, when dried whole, retain a small por- 
 tion of their pungency, and in this state they have 
 been given by some practitioners in the country 
 for flatulence, cramp in the stomachj ^c. also for 
 
 * The acrimony of the Ranunculi, which approaches that of the 
 Arum, is lost by drying, yet is soluble in water, and passes over with 
 it in distillation. That of Polygonum hydropiper disappears in de- 
 coction and distillation. The same takes place with several other 
 acrid plants which I have examined. Some inquiries into the acrid 
 principle of vegetables I am in hopes to render more mature at a fu- 
 ture period. 
 
58 ARtJM TRIPHYLLtJM. 
 
 asthmatic affections. As topical stimulants, they 
 promise to be nsefnl when any method shall have 
 been discovered of fixing and preserving their ac- 
 rimony. The late Dr. Barton of Philadelphia ob- 
 serves, that " the recent root of this plant boiled 
 in milk, so as to communicate to the milk a strong 
 impregnation of the peculiar acrimony of the plant, 
 has been advantageously employed in cases of 
 consumption of the lungs." This statement how- 
 ever should be qualified by the recollection, that 
 the Arum imparts none of its acrimony to milk 
 upon boiling. An impression of this kind can 
 only have been received from a partial mixture of 
 the substance of the root with the milk. 
 
 The root contains a large proportion of very 
 pure white fsecula, resembling the finest arrow 
 root or starch. To procure this, the fresh root 
 should be reduced to a pulp, and placed on a 
 strainer. Repeated portions of cold water should 
 then be poured on it, which in passing through 
 the strainer carry with them the farinaceous part, 
 leaving the fibrous portion behind. The fsecula 
 thus obtained, loses its acrimony on being thor- 
 oughly dried, and forms a very white, delicate and 
 nutritive substance. Dr. M'Call of Georgia found 
 these roots to yield one fourth part of their weight 
 of pure amylaceous matter,— It is not uncommon 
 
DRAGON ROOT. 59 
 
 for a nutritious fsecula to exist in pungent and poi- 
 sonous roots. The Laplanders prepare a whole- 
 some bread from the acrid roots of Calla palus- 
 tris, and the juice of the Cassava, or bread 
 root tree of the West Indies, is known to be high- 
 ly deleterious wliile recent. [JSTote F.] 
 
 BOTANICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 LiNN^TJs, sp. pi. — WiLiDENOW, iv. 480. — AiToiv, Eort KeWc 
 lii. 315. — Waiter, Carol. 224. — Michaux, Fl. ii. 188. — Pursh, 
 ii. 399. Dracunculus s. Serpentaria triphylla, &c. — Bauhu?", 
 Fin, 195. — Arum s. Arisarum, &c. — MoRisojir, Hist, iii. 547, 
 S. 13, t, 5. — Plukenet, t. 77, J. 5. also t. 376, f. 3. 
 
 MEDICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 ScHtEPF, Mat. Med. 133. — Rush, ii. 301. — Bartoiv, Coll. 29, 
 &c. — M'CAiiLjMi Philad. Med. and Phys. Journal^ ii. 84. — Tuach- 
 ER, Disp, 153. — CuTXER, Mem. Jlmer. Jlcad. i, 48r. 
 
 PLATE IV. 
 
 Fig. 1. Anim triphyllum. 
 
 Fig. 2. Spadix with anthers. 
 
 Fig. 3. Spadix with germs. 
 
 Fig. 4. Longitudinal section of the roofi 
 
COPTIS TRIFOLIA. 
 
 Gold thread. 
 
 PLATE r. 
 
 X HE dark sphagnous swamps, "which in the 
 northern partis of our continent are covered with 
 a perpetual shade of firs, cedars and pines, are 
 the favourite haunts of this elegant little ever- 
 green. The coldest situations seem to favour its 
 growth, and it flourishes alike in the morasses of 
 Canada and of Siberia. On our highest mountain 
 tops it plants itself in little bogs and watery clefts 
 of rocks, and perfects its fructification in the short 
 summer allowed it in those situations. I have 
 gathered it upon the summit of the Ascutney in 
 Vermont, and on the Alpine regions of the White 
 mountains. It is here that in company with the 
 Diapensia and Azaleas of Lapland, the blue Men- 
 ziesia, the fragrant Alpine Ilolcii ;, ; ?id other plants 
 
r/.r. 
 
 Tia.R 
 
GOLD THREAD. 61 
 
 of high northern latitudes, it forms the link of bo- 
 tanical connexion between the two continents. 
 When in situations like this, we seem transported 
 to the frigid zone, and to be present at the point 
 where the hemispheres approach each other, as if 
 to interchange their productions.* 
 
 In the second volume of the Amcenitates Ac- 
 ademicse is a description and imperfect figure of 
 this plant as brought from Kamschatka, by Hale- 
 nius. He describes it by the name Eelleborus 
 trifolius^ with the observation, " Minima est hiec 
 planta in suo genere, attamen spectabilis." Sub- 
 sequent botanists have ranked it with the Helle- 
 bores, until Mr. Salisbury very properly separat- 
 ed it from a family of plants, with which it wholly 
 disagrees in habit, and constituted a new genus 
 by the name of Coptis, This genus is character- 
 ized by the following marks. Calyx none ; petals 
 Jive or six, caducous ; nectaries five or six, cu- 
 cullate; capsules from five to eight, pedicelled, leak- 
 ed, many seeded. The species trifolia has ternate 
 leaves, and a onefiowered scape, 
 
 * " Non sine admiratione vidi non solum multas cum rarissimis 
 nostris plantis Lapponicis communes, sed etiam alias, partim ignotas 
 omnino, partim minirae tritas ; et denique quasdam etiam cum Cana- 
 densibus easdem, argumento Canadam a Camscatca non longe dista- 
 re, uti sequentes antea in sola America boreali visse, nunc etiam in 
 estrema ora Siberiee." dmmniiaies Academiccs, ii. 310. 
 
6S COPTIS TRIFOLIA. 
 
 In botanical arrangements, the Coptis will fol- 
 low the Hellebores, from which it was taken, re- 
 maining in the class and order Polyandria, Folygy- 
 nia, with the Multisiliquse of Linn sens and the 
 Eanunculacese of Jussieu. 
 
 The roots of this plant, from which the name 
 of goldthread is taken, are perennial and creeping. 
 On removing the moss and decayed leaves from 
 the surface of the ground, they discover them- 
 selves of a bright yeUow colour, running in every 
 direction. The bases of the new stems are in- 
 vested with a number of yellowish, ovate, acumi- 
 nate stipules. Leaves ternate, on long slender 
 petioles ; leafets roundish, acute at base, lobed 
 and crenate, the crenatures acuminate ; smooth, 
 firm, veiny. Scape slender, round, bearing one 
 small, starry white flower, and a minute, ovate, 
 acute bracte at some distance below. Calyx none. 
 Petals ^\e, six or seven, oblong, concave, white. 
 Nectaries five or six, inversely conical, hollow, yel- 
 low at the mouth. Stamens numerous, white, 
 with capillary filaments and roundish anthers. 
 Germs from five to seven, stipitate, oblong, com- 
 ^ pressed ; styles recurved. Capsules pedicelled, 
 umbelled, oblong, compressed, beaked, with nu- 
 merous black oval seeds attached to the inner side. 
 
 The root of this plant is a pure intense bitter, 
 
GOLD THREAD. 63 
 
 scarcely modified by any other taste. In distilla- 
 tion it communicates no decided sensible quality 
 to water. The constituent with which it most 
 abounds is a bitter extractive matter, soluble both 
 in water and alcohol. It seems destitute of resi* 
 nous or gummy portions, since the residuum from 
 an evaporated solution in alcohol is readily dissolv- 
 ed in water, and vice versa. It is devoid of astrin- 
 gency when chewed in the mouth, and it gives no 
 indication of the presence of tannin or gallic acid 
 when tested with animal gelatin, or with sulphate 
 of iron. The abundance of the bitter principle 
 is evinced by the acetate of lead and nitrate of sil- 
 ver, both of which throw down a copious precipi- 
 tate. The sulphuric, nitric, and muriatic acids 
 occasion no change, and the muriate of tin gives 
 only a slight precipitate, after some time standing. 
 Of this article larger quantities are sold in the 
 druggists' shops in Boston, than of almost any in- 
 digenous production. The demand for it arises 
 from its supposed efiicacy as a local application in 
 aphthous, and other ulcerations of the mouth. 
 Its reputation however in these cases is wholly 
 unmerited, since it possesses no astringent or 
 stimulating quality, by which it can act on the ul- 
 cerated spots, and where benefit has attended its 
 use, it is doubtless to be ascribed to other articles 
 
64* COPTIS TRIPOLI A. 
 
 possessing the above properties, with which it is 
 usually combined. 
 
 As a pure tonic bitter, capable of strengthen- 
 ing the viscera and promoting digestion, it is en- 
 titled to rank with most articles of that kind now 
 in use. Its character resembles that of Gen- 
 tian, Quassia, and Columbo, being a simple bitter 
 without aroma or astringency. The tincture, made 
 by digesting half an ounce of the bruised root in 
 eight ounces of diluted alcohol, forms a preparation 
 of a fine yellow colour, possessing the whole bit- 
 terness of the plant. I have given it in various in- 
 stances to dyspeptics and convalescents, who have 
 generally expressed satisfaction from its effects, 
 at least, as frequently as from other medicines of 
 its class. A teaspoonful may be taken three times 
 a day. In substance, it rests well on the stomach 
 in doses of ten or twenty grains. It is however 
 difficult to reduce to powder on account of the te- 
 nacity of its fibres. 
 
 BOTANICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 Coptis ti-ifolia Salisbury, Lin. Trans, viii. 305. — ^Pursh, ii. 
 390. — Helleborus trifolius, sp. pi. — WiiiD. ii. 1338. Kalm, 
 Travels, iii. 379. — LEPECH.ifer i. 190. — Paiias, Jlfer. iii. 34. — 
 Oeder, F. Dan. t. 566.— Michaux, Fl. i. S^S.^Amccn. dead, 
 ii. 356, t. 4./. 18. 
 
GOLD THREAD. 05 
 
 MEDICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 Helleborus trifolius, Bart. ColL Nigella. — Cutlee, Amer, 
 dead. i. 457. — ^Thacher, Bisp. 283. 
 
 PLATE V. 
 
 Fig. 1. Coptis trifolia with the root, leaves f Jlowers and last 
 yearns fruit. 
 
 Fig, 2. MctarieSf stamens, and pistils magnijied. 
 
 I Fig. 3. Section of a capsule shewing the seeds. 
 
ARBUTUS UVA URSI. 
 
 Bear berry. 
 
 PLATE ri, 
 
 -T EW shrubs are more extensively diffused 
 throughout the northern hemisphere, both in the 
 old and new continents, than this trailing ever- 
 green. We are told that it abounds in the nortli- 
 ern parts of Europe, in Sweden, Lapland, and Ice- 
 land, and extends southerly to the shores of the 
 Mediterranean, In Siberia it is also found, and is 
 represented as abundant on the banks of the 
 Wolga. In North America it grows from Hud- 
 son's bay as far south, at least, as the central 
 parts of the United States. It occupies the most 
 barren places, such as gravelly hills and dry, 
 sandy woods, and covers the ground with beds of 
 considerable extent. 
 
ri. yj 
 
 Kn.l. 
 
 Fi^. M. 
 
 i{g.m. 
 
 ^ 
 
 F^.V. 
 
BEAR BERRY, 67 
 
 The family of plants bearing the name of Ar- 
 butus have for their distinctive marks a jive-part- 
 ed calyx, an ovate corolla, pellucid at base ; and 
 a superior, five-celled berry. They are closely 
 connected to the Vaccinia or whortleberries, from 
 which they differ principally in the situation of 
 the berry, which in the Arbutus gro\^s above 
 the calyx, and in the Vaccinium below it.^ — Both 
 these genera, at least the American species, prop- 
 erly belong to the class Becandria and order Mano- 
 gynia. The Linna3an natural order is Bicornes. 
 Jussieu has them among his Ericce. 
 
 The species Uva ursi. Bear's grape or Bear- 
 berry is known from the rest by its procumbent 
 stem and entire leaves. — It trails upon the ground, 
 putting out roots from the principal stems,, and 
 tending upward with the young shoots^ only. The 
 cuticle is deciduous, and peels off from the old 
 stems. Leaves scattered, obovate, acute at base, 
 attached by short petioles, coriaceous, evergreen^ 
 glabrous, shining above, paler beneath, entire, the 
 margin rounded, but scarcely reflexed, and in the 
 young ones pubescent. Flowers in a short cluster 
 on the ends of the branches. Peduncles reflexed, 
 furnished at base with a short acute bracte under- 
 neath, and two minute ones at the sides. Calvx 
 of five roundish segments, of a reddish colour and 
 
68 ARBUTUS UVA URSI. 
 
 persistent. Corolla ovate or urceolate, white with 
 a reddish tinge, transparent at base, contracted 
 at the mouth, hairy inside, with five short, reilex- 
 ed segments. Stamens inserted at the base of the 
 corolla with hairy filaments, and anthers with two 
 horns and two pores in each. Germ round, style 
 straight, longer than the stamens, stigma simple. 
 Sectary a black indented ring, situated below the 
 germ, and remaining tiU the fruit is ripe. Ber- 
 ries globular, depressed, of a deep red, approach- 
 ing scarlet, containing an insipid, mealy pulp, and 
 . about five seeds, which in the American plant co- 
 here strongly together, so as to appear like the nu- 
 cleus of a drupe. 
 
 The leaves and stems of the Uva ursi are used 
 in Sweden and Hussia for the purpose of tanning 
 leather. According to Linnseus, large quantities 
 are annually collected for this use. 
 
 When chewed in the mouth, the leaves have 
 an astringent taste, combined with some degree of 
 bitterness. The result of such chemical trials as 
 I have made with them, shews that they abound 
 in tannin, which is probably their chief active con- 
 stituent. A solution of gelatin occasions a copi- 
 ous precipitate ; sulphate of iron an equally co- 
 pious one of a black colour. Mtrate of mercury 
 and lime water gave large precipitates from the 
 
BEAR BERRY. 69 
 
 decoction, the first of a light green, the last of a 
 brownish colour. Of the existence of gallic acid, 
 at least as it exists in galls, I have found no suffi- 
 cient proof. The decoction does not redden vege- 
 table blues, and the black precipitate with the sul- 
 phate of iron soon subsides, leaving the fluid nearly 
 colourless. The quantity of resin, mucous mat- 
 ter and extractive, provided they exist in this plant, 
 must be minute ; since the decoction was not ren- 
 dered turbid by the addition of alcohol or ether, 
 nor the tincture by the addition of water, although 
 after standing twenty four hours, some slight floc- 
 culi appeared. Muriate of tin produced no precip- 
 itation from the decoction, though it gave one from 
 the tincture. Acetite of lead and nitrate of sil- 
 ver gave large precipitates. "Water distilled from 
 this plant, suffered no change with sulphate of 
 ii'on, or muriate of tin. 
 
 Professor Murray of Gottingen, finding a great- 
 er amount of soluble matter taken up by water 
 than by alcohol, considers the former as the best 
 menstruum for this article. A similar inference 
 from the American plant was made by Dr. John 
 S. Mitchell in an inaugural dissertation, published 
 at Philadelphia in 1803. For medical uses, 31ur- 
 ray prefers the decoction to the infusion. 
 
yO ARBUTUS UVA URSI. 
 
 The Uva ursi was probably known to the an- 
 cients, as it grows in all the southern parts of Eu- 
 rope. Clusius thinks it was the u^ktov o-TccCpuXti of 
 Galen, celebrated by him as a remedy in hemop- 
 tysis, and described as follows. "Uva ursi in 
 Ponto nascitur, planta humilis et fruticosa. folio 
 Memaicyli, fructum ferens rubrum, rotundum, 
 ffustu austerum." But it is well known that the 
 brief and imperfect descriptions of the ancients 
 were productive of little else than uncertainty in 
 
 Botany. 
 
 In modern times the Uva ursi was brought 
 into notice about the middle of the eighteenth 
 century by De Haen, as an efficient remedy in 
 nephritic and even in calculous cases. It had 
 been previously in use for these complaints in 
 Spain, at Naples and Montpellier, and as a gener- 
 al astringent, at a still earlier period. Its reputa- 
 tion was still further augmented by subsequent 
 dissertations, published upon its properties, and 
 different sets of experiments were instituted to 
 ascertain if it were not actually capable of dissolv- 
 ing the stone of the bladder. The results most in 
 favour of its solvent power were those of Girardi,^ 
 who diminished the weight and consistency of uri- 
 nary calculi, by digesting them in a preparatioa 
 of this plant. It appears however that the prep- 
 
BEAR BERRY. 71 
 
 aration, wliich he employed, was an acid liquor, 
 obtained by a destruf tive distillation of the leaves, 
 and probably not superior to other weak acids in 
 its solvent powers. On the other hand, Professor 
 Murray found what might reasonably be expect- 
 ed, that these calculi were not materially affected 
 by long digestion in a decoction of this plant at 
 various temperatures. 
 
 The attention of many medical writers has 
 been called to the properties of this medicine, 
 and their reports as to its success are extremely 
 various. Among its greatest friends, are De 
 Haen, Professor Murray, and Dr. Ferriar ; while 
 of those whose opinion is more unfavourable, are 
 Sauvages, Haller, Donald, Munro and FothergiU. 
 Dr. CuUen adopts the opinion of De Heucher, that 
 the symptoms of calculus generally are suscepti- 
 ble of relief from astringents, and believes that on 
 this principle the Uva ursi is capable of mitigat- 
 ing complaints arising from that source.* 
 
 In this country the Uva ursi has acquired the 
 good opinion of practitioners of medicine in re- 
 
 * In the preface to the third volume of Medical Observations and 
 Inquiries, published at London, it is stated in very general terms, that 
 the Uva ursi had been prescribed unsuccessfully hj msnnj of the mem- 
 bers of the Society of Physicians in London. Dr. Woodville, in his 
 Medical Botany, has unfortunately misquoted this passage, by read- 
 ing " successfully" instead of" unsuccessfully." 
 
7S ARBUTUS UVA URSI. 
 
 peated instances. Professor Wistar of Phila- 
 delphia, as cited by Dr. Mitchell, has in several 
 cases found symptoms like those of urinary calcu- 
 lus completely removed by this medicine. But 
 these could not probably have been cases of real 
 calculus. The late Professor Barton found the 
 plant of much service in his own case of nephrit- 
 ic paroxysms, alternating with gout in the feet. 
 
 From the various testimonies which have been 
 given respecting the properties of this article, we 
 are not warranted in believing it to possess any 
 real lithontriptic power. At the same time it un- 
 doubtedly proves a palliative for calculous symp- 
 toms in many cases. 
 
 I have repeatedly watched its effects in parox- 
 ysms of nephritis, brought on by gravelly concre- 
 tions, and am on the whole inclined to believe in 
 its tendency to allay sensibility in these cases, 
 and to hasten the relief of the symptoms. It 
 ought generally to be preceded by evacuationSj 
 and may be advantageously accompanied with 
 opium. — In cases of dysury arising from a vari- 
 ety of causes, I have given the decoction of this 
 plant with very satisfactory success in repeated 
 instances. 
 
 The other diseases in which this plant has been 
 recommended are, catarrhus yesicse, leucorrhsea 
 
BEAR BERRY, 73 
 
 mid gonorrhsea. Ali these complaints it has doubt- 
 less cured, but is at the same time inferior to 
 other medicines in use for the same purposes. 
 
 Some years ago the Uva ursi was recommend- 
 ed as a remedy in pulmonary consumption bvBr, 
 Bourne of Oxford in England, and by other wri- 
 ters in the periodical works. It was stated to 
 have a very sensible effect in diminishing hectic 
 fever, and abating the frequency of the pulse de- 
 pendent on it. We do not find however that sub- 
 sequent experience has justilied the expectations 
 formed of it in this disease. 
 
 In Dr. Mitchell's experiments on the pulse 
 with this medicine, it appears that the pulsations 
 were sometimes, not always, slightly increased af- 
 ter taking it, but that in every case they soon 
 sunk below the natural standard, and remained so 
 for some time. 
 
 Of the powder of the leaves of Uva ursi, from 
 one to two scruples may be given to most patients. 
 Br. Ferriar's dose in nephritis was from five 
 to ten grains, but a larger quantity is more effec- 
 tual, and is readily borne by the stomach. The 
 decoction may be made from half an ounce 
 of the leaves boiled for ten minutes in a pint of 
 water. From a wine glass to a gill of this may 
 be taken every hour. 
 10 
 
74 ARBUTUS UVA URSI. 
 
 BOTANICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 Arbutus Uva ursi, LiNN-aEUs, Fl. Lapponica, 162, t. vi./. 3.— * 
 Oeder, Fl. Ban. t. 33. — ^Woodville, i. t. 70. — Smith, Fl. BriU 
 443. — Engl. Bot. t. 714. — Michaux, Fl. i. 249. — Pursh, i. 282. 
 
 Uva ursi, J. Batjhin, i. 523. — Ciusius, Mspan. 79. — Lobei, 
 
 Icon.}. 366.-— PAKKiNSOif, theatr. 1457. — ^Vitis Idsea, Raius, HisU 
 1489, 
 
 MEDICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 Murray, Apparatus Med. ii. 64. — Girardi, de Uva ursina, 
 &c. — De HABJf, Ratio medendh ii. 160, &c. — Satjvages, J^'osol. 
 iii. 2, 200. — D. Munro, Mat. Med. iii. 288. — Fothergill, Med, 
 Obs. 144. — Axexander, Exp. essays, 151. — Ferriar i. 109. — 
 Hebbrden 79, 360. — Davie, Med. and Phys. Journal, xv. 347. — 
 BouRivE, in ditto, xiv.^463. — Schcepf, 67. — Mitchell, Inaugu- 
 ral Thesis. 
 
 PLATE VI. 
 
 Fig. 1. »:irhutus Uva ursi, the American vanety. 
 
 Fig. 2. The magnijied corolla opened, shewing the insertion of 
 the stamens. 
 
 Fig. 3. Calyx, nectary, germ, and stijle magnified. 
 
 Fig. 4, Calyx and nectary. 
 
 Fig. 5. Berry. 
 
^t: 
 
/■/ . / //. 
 
 • Aim 
 
 ^^mg'MMafya^ 
 
 ^rt//a^/^/fM» 
 
SAI^GUINARIA CANADENSIS^ 
 
 Blood root 
 
 PLATE VIL 
 
 Among the earliest visiters of spring the hota= 
 nist will find in almost any part of the United 
 States the Sangiiinarici Canadensis, Its fine white 
 flowers proceeding from the bosom of a youngs 
 convoluted leaf, become visible in the woods, in 
 Carolina, in the month of March, and in New En- 
 gland, toward th^ end of x\pril. Its most com- 
 mon name is Blood root. It has also the appella 
 tion of Puccoon, Turmeric, Med root, ^c. It is the 
 only species we at present possess of the genus 
 Sanguinaria, distinguished by a two leaved caly^ 
 eight petals, and an ohlong capsule, with one cell 
 and many seeds.^— Class Polyandria, order Mono- 
 gynia» Natural order Mhceadecv, L, Papaveracew^ 
 Jiiss, 
 
7Q SANGUINARIA CANADENSIS. 
 
 The flower and leaf proceed from the end of 
 a horizontal, fleshy, abrupt root, fed by numerous 
 radicles. This root makes ofi'sets from its sides, 
 which separate as the old root decays, acquiring 
 by this separation the abrupt or premorse form. 
 
 Externally the colour of the root is a brownish 
 red. Internally it is pale, and when divided emits 
 a bright orange coloured juice from numerous 
 points of its surface. The bud or hybernaculum, 
 which terminates the root, is composed of succes- 
 sive scales or sheaths, the last of which acquires a 
 considerable size, as the plant springs up. By 
 dissecting this hybernaculum in the summer or 
 autumn, we may discover the embryo leaf and 
 flower of the succeeding spring, and with a com- 
 mon magnifier, even the stamens may be counted. 
 
 The Sanguinaria is smooth throughout. The 
 leaves grow on long channelled petioles. When 
 spread out, they are reniform or heart shaped, 
 with large roundish lobes separated by obtuse si- 
 nuses. The under side is strongly reticulated 
 with veins ; it is paler than the upper, and at length 
 becomes glaucous. The scape is round, rises in 
 front of the petiole, and is infolded by the young 
 leaf. The calyx consists of two concave, ovate, 
 obtuse leaves, which are perfect in the bud, but 
 fall off when the corolla expands. Petals eight, 
 
BLOOD ROOT. 77 
 
 spreading, concave, obtuse, the alternate or ex- 
 ternal ones longer, so that the flower has a 
 squai'e appearance. This is its natural charac- 
 ter, although cultivation sometimes increases the 
 number of petals. Stamens numerous, with ob- 
 long yellow anthers. Germ oblong, compressed, 
 style none, stigma thick, somewhat two lobed. 
 Capsule oblong, acute at both extremities, two 
 valved. Seeds numerous, roundish, compressed, 
 dark shining red, half surrounded with a peculiar 
 white vermiform appendage, which projects at the 
 lower end. 
 
 After the flower has fallen, the leaves continue 
 to grow, and by midsummer have acquired-so large 
 a size as to appear like a different plant. 
 
 The root of this vegetable is the only part 
 which I have submitted to chemical examination. 
 The experiments made on this substance, gave 
 evidence of the following constituent principles. 
 
 1. A peculiar resin. Alcohol comes ofl*from 
 the root strongly impregnated with its colour and 
 taste. This solution is rendered turbid by the 
 addition of water. When evaporated to dryness, 
 it leaves a residuum partially, but not wholly soluble 
 in water. When successive quantities of water 
 have been agitated with the powdered root until 
 the infusion comes off colourless, alcohol acquu-es 
 
78 SANGUINARIA CANADENSIS. 
 
 a colour from the remainder. jEtlier receives 
 from the root a yellowish colom', and when eva- 
 porated, leaves the resin nearly pure. In this 
 state it is moderately adhesive, of a deep orange 
 colour, bitter and acrid, diffusible, bat not soluble 
 in water. The resin may also be precipitated in 
 small quantities from alcohol by water. 
 
 S. A bitter principle. Both water and alcohol 
 acquire a strong bitter taste when digested on the 
 root. From both these solutions a copious pre- 
 cipitate is thrown down by the nitrate of silver 
 and the acetite of lead. 3Iuriate of tin gradually 
 renders the solution turbid, but without a precipi- 
 tate. Oxymuriatic acid renders the alcoholic so- 
 lution turbid, but produces no change in the wa- 
 tery solution for some time. At length a precip- 
 itate forms and slowly subsides; but produces no 
 change in the watery solution. No precipitate was 
 formed from the cold aqueous infusion in an hour 
 by the sulphuric or nitric acids, by lime water, ni- 
 trate of mercury, muriate of barytes, oxalate of 
 ammonia, sulphate of iron, gelatine or hydro-sul- 
 phuret of potash. After standing twenty four 
 hours, a very slight precipitate was discovered 
 from the lime water and nitrate of mercury onl}^ 
 3. An acrid principle. The acrimony resides 
 in part in the resin, but is also communicated to 
 
BLOOD ROOT. 79 
 
 water. It is diminished by heat, yet it does not 
 come over with water in distillation. 
 
 4. Fsecula. The infusion of the root in cold 
 water is limpid. The hot infusion is viscid and 
 glutinous and stiffens linen. From this solution 
 the fascula is precipitated in a white powder by al- 
 cohol. Nitric acid dissolves this precipitate, which 
 may be again thrown down by alcohol. 
 
 5. A fibrous or woody portion. 
 
 The beautiful colour of the root seems to re- 
 side more in the resin than in any other princi- 
 ple, since the alcoholic solution has always more 
 than twice as much colour as the aqueous. Pa- 
 pers dipt in these solutions receive a bright salmon 
 colour from the tincture, but a very faint one from 
 the aqueous infusion. This circumstance furnish- 
 es an impediment to the use of this article in dyeing. 
 The medical properties of the Sanguinaria are 
 those of an acrid narcotic. When taken in a large 
 dose it irritates the fauces, leaving an impression 
 in the throat for considerable time after it is swal- 
 lowed. It occasions heartburn, nausea, faintness, 
 and frequently vertigo and diminished vision. 
 At length it vomits, but in this operation it is less 
 certain than other emetics in common use. The 
 above effects are produced by a dose of from eight 
 to twenty grains of the fresh powdered root. 
 
so SAN GUIN ARIA CANADENSIS. 
 
 When given in smaller doses, such as produce 
 nausea without vomiting, and repeated at fre- 
 quent intervals, it lessens the frequency of the 
 pulse in a manner somewhat analogous to the op- 
 eration of Digitalis. This however is a seconda- 
 ry effect, since in its primary operation it seems 
 to accelerate the circulation. Exhibited in this 
 manner, it has been found useful in several 
 diseases. 
 
 In still smaller doses, or such as do not excite 
 nausea, it has acquired some reputation as a tonic 
 stimulant. 
 
 Professor Smith of Hanover, New Hampshire, 
 in a paper on this plant, published in the London 
 Medical Transactions, vol. i. states that he found 
 the powder to operate violently as an emetic, pro- 
 ducing great prostration of strength, during its 
 operation, which continued for some time. He liad 
 not known it to act as a cathartic. Snuffed up the 
 nostrils, it proved sternutatory, and left a sensa- 
 tion of heat for some time. Applied to fungous 
 flesh it proved escliarotic, and several polypi of the 
 soft kind were cured by it in his hands. He found 
 it of great use in the incipient stages of pulmona- 
 ry consumption, given in as large doses as the 
 stomach would bear, and repeated. In cases of 
 great irritation it was combined with opium. Some 
 
BLOOD ROOT. 81 
 
 other complaints were benefitted by it, such as 
 acute rheumatism and jaundice. 
 
 Professor Ives of New Haven* considers the 
 Blood root as a remedy of importance in many dis- 
 eases, particularly of the lungs and liver. He ob- 
 serves, that in typhoid pneumonia, "in plethoric 
 constitutions, when respiration is very difiicult, 
 the cheeks and hands become livid, the pulse full 
 soft, vibrating and easily compressed, — the Blood 
 root has done more to obviate the symptoms and 
 remove the disease," than any remedy which he 
 has used. In such cases, he observes, " the dose 
 must be large in proportion to the violence of the 
 disease, and often repeated, until it excites vomit- 
 ing, or relieves the symptoms." He infuses from 
 a scruple to half a drachm of the powdered root 
 in half a gill of hot water, and gives one or two tea- 
 spoonfuls every half hour, in urgent cases, until 
 the effect is produced. This treatment has often 
 removed the symptoms in a few hours. 
 
 Dr. Ives thinks highly of its use in influenza, 
 in phthisis, and particularly in hooping cough. 
 He also states, that given in large doses, sufficient 
 to produce full vomiting, it often removes the 
 Croup, if administered in the first stages. It has 
 been given, he remarks, "for many years in the 
 
 * Letter dated November 5, 1816. 
 11 
 
82 SAUGUINARIA CANADENSIS. 
 
 country, some physicians relying wholly on this 
 remedy for the cure of croup." 
 
 Dr. Macbride, of Charleston, S. C. who has 
 contributed many judicious remarks on the medi- 
 cinal properties of plants, to Mr. Elliott's excel- 
 lent Botany of the Southern States ; informs me,* 
 that he has found the Blood root useful in Hy- 
 drothorax, given in doses of sixty drops, ter de die, 
 and increased until nausea followed each dose. 
 In a week or two the good eifect was evident, the 
 pulse being rendered slow and regular, and the 
 respiration much improved. In the same letter 
 he observes, " In torpor of the liver, attended with 
 colic and yellowness of the skin, a disease com- 
 mon in this climate, I use the Puccoon with evi- 
 dent advantage. We use it also in jaundice, but 
 in this disease I do not trust exclusively to it. I 
 prefer the pill or powder (dose from two to five 
 grains) and vinous infusion, to the spirituous tinc- 
 ture." 
 
 The tincture of Sanguinaria may be made by 
 digesting an ounce of the powdered root in eight 
 ounces of diluted alcohol. This preparation pos- 
 sesses all the bitterness, but less of the nauseat- 
 ing quality, than the infusion. In the dose of a 
 small teaspoonful, it is used by many practitioners 
 
 * Letter dated December, 1816. 
 
BLOOD ROOT. 8S 
 
 as a stimulating tonic, capable of increasing the 
 appetite and promoting digestion. 
 
 BOTANICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 Sanguinaria Canadensis, Lin. sp<, pi. — Curtis, Botan. Mag^ 
 t. 162. — AiToiv, Hort. ICe%v, ii. 222. — Waiter, Carol. 153.— 
 MiCHAUx, Flora 1, 309.' — Pursh, ii. 366. — Sanguinaria minor, 
 BixiENius, Elth. /. 326 and S. major, / 325 in t. 252. — Cheli- 
 donium maximum acaulon Canadense Raius, Hist. 1887. — Ran- 
 unculus Virg. albus. Parkinsoiv, Th. 326. — Chelidonium ma- 
 jus Canad. acaulon Cornutus, Canad. 212. 
 
 MEDICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 ScHffiPF, 85. — Smith, Trans. Lond. Med. Society, i. 179.— » 
 Bart. Coll. 28. — CuTiER, Mem. dmer. dead. i. 455. — Thacher>, 
 Bisp. 331. 
 
GEEAMUM MACULATUM. 
 
 Common CraneshilL 
 
 PLATE nil. 
 
 JLN common language the term Geranium in- 
 cludes all that extensive tribe of plants comprised 
 by the old genus of that name, and principally 
 characterised by their beaked fruit and five seeds 
 ■which are scattered by means of awns. L'Heri- 
 tier has divided this family into three distinct gen- 
 era, under different orders in the artificial class 
 Monmlelphia. These are Erodium^ haviog five sta- 
 mens, five nectariferous scales and glands, and the 
 awns of the fruit twisted and bearded. Pelargoni' 
 uin, which includes most of the Cape species so 
 commonly cultivated among us, having about seven 
 stamens, an irregular corolla, and a nectareous tube 
 running down the peduncle. Lastly, Geranium 
 having ten stamens, a regular corolla, five nee- 
 
yj. \iu. 
 
COMMON CEANESBILL. 8S 
 
 tariferous glands at the base of the longer fila- 
 ments, the awns of the fruit neither bearded nor 
 twisted. To this division belongs the plant under 
 consideration, which has the following specific 
 character. Erect, hairy backward ; stem forked; 
 leaves opposite, three or jive parted, cut; peduncles 
 mostly two flowered ; petals, ohovate, entire, 
 
 Jussieu has formed a natural order by the 
 name of Gerania, which nearly corresponds to the 
 Gruinales of Linnseus. 
 
 Although we have few species of Geranium 
 in the United States, yet the present species, by its 
 extensive diffusion, is a sufficient representative 
 of the race. It is very common in low grounds, 
 about Boston and Philadelphia, in the Carolinas, 
 and in the western country upon the banks of the 
 Ohio and Illinois. 
 
 The root of Geranium maculatum is perennial, 
 horizontal, thick, rough and knobby. In most 
 plants it sends up a stem and several root leaves. 
 The leaves are spreading, hairy, divided in a pal- 
 mate manner into three, five, or seven lobes, which 
 are variously cut and toothed at their extremi- 
 ties ; those of the root are on long petioles, those 
 at the middle of the stem opposite and petioled, 
 those at the top opposite and nearly sessile. The 
 stem is erect, round, hispid with reversed hairs, 
 
86 GERANIUM MACULATUM. 
 
 dichotomous, with a flower stalk in the fork. Sti- 
 pules and bractes linear, dilated at base. Pedun- 
 cles round, hairy, swelling at base, generally two 
 flowered. Calyx of five oblong, ribbed, mucron- 
 ated leaves, with the parts, which are outermost 
 in the bud, hairy. Petals five, obovate, not emargi- 
 nate, of a light purple colour, which is deeper 
 when the plant grows in the shade, marked with 
 green at the base. Stamens ten, erect or curving 
 outward, the alternate ones a little longer, with 
 nectariferous glands at the base ; filaments dilat- 
 ed and united together at base ; anthers oblong, 
 deciduous, so that the number frequently appears 
 less than ten. Germ ovate ; style straight, as 
 long as the stamens ; stigmas five, at first erect, 
 afterwards recurved. Capsule hje seeded, sur- 
 mounted by a long straight beak, from the sides of 
 which when ripe are separated five thin, flat awns, 
 which curl up, having cast off the seed contained 
 in the cell at the base of each. 
 
 The root of the Geranium, which is the part to 
 be used in medicine, is internally of a green col- 
 our, and when dry is exceedingly brittle and easi- 
 ly reduced to powder. It is one of the most pow- 
 erful astringents we possess, and from its decided 
 properties, as well as the ease of procuring it, it 
 may well supersede in medicine many foreign ar- 
 
COMMON CRANESBILL. 87 
 
 tides of its class which are consumed among us. 
 The experiments, which I have made upon this 
 root, have been principally directed to the exami- 
 nation of its astringent qualities. 
 
 A drachm of the powdered root was steeped in 
 two ounces of cold water and the infusion filtrat- 
 ed. Successive portions of water were add- 
 ed until the liquid came off colourless and taste- 
 less. The collected infusion had a pale greenish 
 colour, and a styptic, austere taste. It did not 
 redden vegetable blues. 
 
 To half this infusion was added a drachm of 
 gelatin in solution. The liquor instantly became 
 of a milky whiteness, and a copious white precipi- 
 tate was thrown down. This precipitate was dri- 
 ed and assumed a semi-transparent, horny ap- 
 pearance. Its weight was eleven grains. 
 
 A drachm of kino treated in the same man- 
 ner was rendered turbid, but gave a very scanty 
 precipitate with the gelatin. 
 
 To portions of the same infusions was added a 
 solution of the muriate of tin. In both of them a 
 greenisli precipitate was formed, but that of the 
 Geranium was much the most immediate and 
 abundant. 
 
 The sulphate of iron struck a dark purple col- 
 our with the infusion of Geranium. The com- 
 
a& GERANIUM MACULATUM. 
 
 pound remained principally suspended at the end 
 of twenty four hours, and when used in writing 
 had the appearance of common ink, but in a few 
 days changed to a dull brown colour. A por- 
 tion of the fresh infusion was distilled, but the li- 
 quid which came over was not altered in colour 
 by the sulphate of iron. 
 
 The above experiments indicate the presence 
 of tannin and gallic acid, the former in large quan- 
 tities, in the root of the Geranium^ The propor- 
 tion of tannin seems considerably to exceed that 
 in the kino of the shops. The gallic acid is in- 
 dicated by the dark precipitate remaining in so- 
 lution. This is Berthollet's criterion. It differs 
 however from the acid of oak galls in not reddening 
 vegetable blues, and not passing over in distillation. 
 
 Alcohol and proof spirit readily dissolve the 
 active constituents of the Geranium. The tinc- 
 ture has a great sensible astringency, and i& a 
 convenient mode of keeping tlie article for use. 
 
 The Geranium has been repeatedly employed 
 in medicine by various practitioners in this coun- 
 try. I have found it useful in a number of cases, 
 where astringents were capable of rendering ser- 
 vice. It is particularly suited to the treatment of 
 such discharges as continue from debility after 
 the removal of their exciting causes. The tine- 
 
COMMON CRxlNESBILL, 89 
 
 ture forms an excellent local application in sore 
 throats and ulcerations of the mouth. 
 
 Its internal use has been recommended in dvs- 
 entery and cholera infantum, but astringents are 
 not always admissible in these complaints, at least 
 in their early stages, during the existence of much 
 actiye inflammation, or during the presence of any 
 substance requiring to be removed. 
 
 The Geranium may be used in powder in ex- 
 tract, or in tincture. Its doses are similar to 
 those of kino and catechu, a drachm or two of 
 the tincture, twenty or thirty grains of the pow- 
 der, and a quantity somewhat less of the extract. 
 
 BOTANICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 Geranium maculatum, Sp.pl. Wilidejvow, iii. 705. — GEoiiro- 
 vius, Virg. 101. — Waiter, Carol. 175. — Michaux, ii. 35. — . 
 PuRSH, ii. 448. — G. caiile erecto, herbaceo, foliis oppositis, quin- 
 quepartitis, incisis &c. Caa'^aiviiles, diss. t. 86,/. 2. — G. batra- 
 chioides, Americanum, maculatum, floribus obsolete cceruleis, 
 T)lLL.Elth. 158. t 131,/. 159. 
 
 MEDICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 ScHffiPF, 107. — Bart. Coll. 7. — Cutler, Mem, Mier. Jlcailt 
 i. 469 Thacher, Disp. 224. 
 
 PLATE VIIL 
 
 Fig. 1. Geranium maciilatnm. 
 Fig. 2. The fruit. 
 Fig. 3. The root, 
 
 IS 
 
TEIOSTEUM PERFOLIATUM. 
 
 Fever root 
 
 PLATE IX. 
 
 X HIS is rather a solitary plant, and tliougli 
 met with in most parts of the United States, it 
 rarely, I believe, occurs in large quantities. About 
 Boston it is found in several places at the borders 
 of woods in rich, shady situations. Its common 
 names are Fever root and Wild ipecac.^ Pursh 
 observes, that it is rare, and generally occurs in 
 limestone soils. With us it flowers in June and 
 ripens its fruit in September. 
 
 The genus Triosteum is found in the class 
 
 * The quaint appellation of Dr. Tinker's weed, which has heen 
 bestowed on this plant, is thus gravely commented on by Poiret. 
 *' Ses racines et celles de Fespece precedente passent pour emeti- 
 ques ; le docteur Tinkar est le premier qui les a mises en usage, et 
 qui a fait donner a cette plante par plusieurs habitans de I'Amerique 
 septentrionale le nom d' herbe saiivage du docteur Tinkar.''[ 
 
JPLIX. 
 
 
 -^^ 
 
 Fi.K II 
 
 rig. m 
 
 /,vV..,^//A 
 
 '"/////// A'; 
 
FEVER ROOT. 91 
 
 Pentandria and order Monogynia. Its natural 
 affinities place it among the Aggregatce of Lin- 
 naeus and the Capi^ifolia of Jussieu. It is charac- 
 terized by a monopetalous, five-lohed^ unequal co- 
 rolla ; a calyoc as long as the corolla ; and a ber- 
 ry with three cells and three seeds. The species 
 perfoliatum differs from the rest in having its 
 leaves connate, and itsfiotvers sessile and whorled. 
 The root of this plant is perennial and subdi- 
 vided into numerous horizontal branches. The 
 stem is erect, hairy, fistulous, round, from one to 
 four feet high. The leaves are opposite, the 
 pairs crossing each other, connate, ovate, acumi- 
 nate, entire, rather flat, abruptly contracted at 
 base into a sort of neck, resembling a winged 
 petiole. This portion varies in width, as Michaux 
 has expressed it, "foliis latins, angustiusve con 
 natis," In general it is narrow when the plant is 
 in flower, as represented in the figure; and wider 
 when it is in fruit. The flowers are axillary, sessile, 
 five or six in a whorl, the upper ones generally 
 in a single pair. Each axil is furnished with two 
 or three linear bractes. The calyx consists of 
 five segments which are spreading, oblong-linear 
 coloured, unequal, persistent. Corolla tubular, 
 curving, of a dull brownish purple, covered with 
 minute hairs, its base gibbous, its border open and 
 
9S TRIOSTEUM PERFOLIATUM. 
 
 divided into five rounded, unequal lobes. Stamens 
 inserted in tlie tube of the corolla, hairy, with 
 oblong anthers. Germ inferior, roundisli ; style 
 longer than the corolla; stigma peltate. The 
 fruit is an oval berry of a deep orange yellow,* 
 hairy, somewhat three sided, crowned with the 
 calyx, containing three cells and three hard, bony, 
 furrowed seeds, from which the name of the genus 
 is taken. 
 
 This plant was made the subject of an inter- 
 esting communication to the Linn^ean society of 
 Kew England, by Dr. John Randall. The exper- 
 iments made by him on its medical uses and phar- 
 maceutical preparations were numerous, and 
 serve to throw much light on its properties. In 
 trying the solvent powers of water and alcohol, he 
 found that water afforded a much greater quanti- 
 ty of extract than alcohol, and that the spirituous 
 extract was perfectly soluble in water, whence he 
 infers that no resin in a pure state exists in the 
 plant. He discovered no volatile oil by distilla- 
 tion, nor any other principle of activity in water 
 distilled from the plant. He concludes also, that 
 
 * Pursh observes that the flowers and berries are purple. In all 
 the specimens I have examined, which have not been few in number* 
 the fruit was of a bright orange colour. If Pursh has seen a plant 
 %vith purple berries, it is probably a diiferent species from the true 
 plant of Linnseus and Diilenius, which had ^^fructus lutescentes,^^ 
 
FEVER ROOT. 98 
 
 no free acid exists in this vegetable. Of the dif- 
 ferent parts submitted to examination, the leaves 
 yielded the greatest quantity of soluble matter, 
 but the root afforded that of the greatest activity. 
 By decoction and evaporation with water an ounce 
 of the dried stalks afforded one drachm of ex- 
 tract ; an ounce of the dry roots, two drachms 
 and two scruples, and the same quantity of leaves 
 half an ounce. From a similar treatment of equal 
 portions with alcohol, rather more than half the 
 above quantities of extract were obtained. 
 
 The sensible qualities of the root were found 
 essentially different from those of the herb. Both 
 of them possess a large share of bitterness, but the 
 root has also a nauseous taste and smell, some- 
 what approaching to those of ipecacuanha. The 
 medical properties of the Triosteum are those of 
 an emetic and cathartic. In the above disserta- 
 tion, about thirty cases are detailed, in which dif- 
 ferent preparations and quantities of the article 
 were given to various persons with a view to their 
 medicinal effects. The general inference to be 
 made from them is, that the bark of the root acts 
 with tolerable certainty as an evacuant upon the 
 alimentary canal, both hy emesis and catharsis. 
 When given alone, either in powder or decoction, 
 the instances of its failure were not many, and 
 
94> TRIOSTEUM PERFOLIATUM, 
 
 when combined with calomel, its operation was at- 
 tended with a certainty, hardly inferior to that of 
 jalap. The aqueous and spirituous extract of the 
 root were likewise efficacious, and nearly in an 
 equal degree. Preparations made from different 
 parts of the herb possessed much less activity, the 
 decoction of the leaves operating only as a diapho- 
 retic, and that of the stalk producing no effect. 
 
 The late Professor Barton of Philadelphia, in 
 his Collections toward a Materia Medica of the U- 
 iiited States, speaks of this plant as a mild and 
 good cathartic, sometimes operating as a diuretic 
 and in large doses as an emetic. 
 
 My own experience with this plant has not 
 been extensive, yet sufficient to satisfy me of its 
 medicinal power. Where I have administered it, 
 it has generally proved cathartic, a larger dose 
 however being requisite for this purpose, than of 
 jalap or aloes. It has sometimes failed to pro- 
 duce any effiact, and I am inclined to believe that 
 its efficacy is much impaired by age. Those who 
 may incline to employ it, will do well to renew 
 their stock annually, and to keep the powder in 
 close stopped phials. 
 
 A dose of the bark of the root in powder is 
 twenty or twenty five grains, and of the extractj 
 a somewhat smaller quantity. 
 
FEYER ROOT. 95 
 
 BOTANICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 Triosteum perfoliatiira, Lin. sp. pi. Aiton, Hort. Ketv, i. 234. 
 — PuRSH. i. 162. — Triosteum majiis, Michaux, Fl. i. 107. — T. 
 floribus verticLllatis, sessilibus, Gronov. 31. — Triosteosper- 
 mum latiore folio, flore rutilo, Dij^lenius, Elth. t. 293. /. 378. 
 
 MEDICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 ScHOEPF, 23. — ^Bart. Coll. 29. 
 
 PLATE IX. 
 
 Fig. 1. Triosteum perfoliatum. 
 
 Fig. 2. .5 Jloxver separated. 
 
 Fig. 3. The corolla opened, shewing the stamens and style. 
 
 Fig. 4. The calyx. 
 
 Fig. 5. The fruit, crowned with the calyx. 
 
 Fig. 6. The same dissected to shew the three seeds. 
 
 Fig, 7. d seed. 
 
EHUS VERmX. 
 
 Poison Sumach or Dogwood, 
 
 FL^TE X. 
 
 Xhe fine, smooth foliage of the Rhus vernis 
 render it one of the most elegant of our native 
 shrubs, while its well known poisonous qualities 
 make it an object of aversion, and deter most per- 
 sons from a near inspection of its structure and 
 characteristics. From Canada to Carolina it is a 
 common tenant of swamps and meadows, usually 
 attaining the height of ten or fifteen feet, but 
 sometimes rising into a tree of twice that altitude. 
 The names of Poison tree, Poison wood, Poison 
 ash, ^c. are applied to it in different parts of the 
 United States. In Massachusetts it is universal- 
 ly known by the name of Dogwood, This appel- 
 lation, being applied throughout the country to 
 Cormis florida, serves to shew the fallacy of de- 
 
>>'/. J- 
 
POISON SUMACH. ^7 
 
 pending on vulgar or provincial names for the 
 distinction of plants. A mistake of very injuri- 
 ous consequence might easily arise from the confu- 
 sion of the English names of two trees so dissimi- 
 lar in their qualities. 
 
 The class Pentandria and order Trigynia ; the 
 Linnsean order Biimosm and the Jussieuean Tere- 
 bintacece include the genus to which this shrub 
 belongs. The generic character consists in an 
 inferior, jive-parted calyx, a corolla of five petals^ 
 and a berry tvitli one seed. The Ehus vernix has 
 its leaves annual, pinnate, glabrous ; its leafets ob- 
 long, entire, acuminate ; its panicle lacv, and its 
 fiowers diodcious. 
 
 The trunk of the poison sumach is from one 
 to five inches in diameter, branching at top, and 
 covered with a pale greyish bark. The wood is 
 light and brittle, and contains much pith. The 
 ends of the young shoots and the petioles are usu- 
 ally of a fine red colour, which contributes much 
 to the beauty of the shrub. The leaves are pin- 
 nate, the leafets oblong or oval, entire, or some- 
 times slightly sinuate, acuminate, smooth, paler 
 underneath, nearly sessile, except the terminal 
 one. The flow ers, which appear in June, are very 
 small, green, in loose axillary panicles. Where 
 they appear not axillary, it is because the leat un- 
 13 
 
98 RHUS VERNIX. 
 
 der tliem lias been detached. Tlie barren and 
 fertile flowers grow on different trees. The 
 panicles of barren flowers are the largest and 
 most branched. They are furnished with short, 
 oblong bractes, and downy pedicels. The ca- 
 lyx has five ovate segments, and the corolla five 
 oblong, sigmoid petals. The stamens are longer 
 than the petals, and project through their in- 
 terstices. The rudiment of a three-cleft style 
 is found in the centre. — In the fertile flowers, 
 the panicles of which are much smaller, the 
 calyx and petals resemble the last, while the 
 centre is occupied by an oval germ, ending in 
 three circular stigmas. The fruit is a bunch 
 of dry berries or rather drupes of a greenish 
 white, sometimes marked with slight purple veins, 
 and becoming wrinkled when old. They are 
 roundish, a little broadest at the upper end, and 
 compressed ', containing one white, hard, furrow- 
 ed seed. 
 
 A tree, supposed to be the same with the 
 Rhus vernix, grows in Japan, and furnishes the 
 celebrated black varnish of that country. 
 
 A controversy respecting the identity of the 
 Japanese and American species, was carried on in 
 the forty ninth and fiftieth volumes of the London 
 Philosophical transactions, by Mr. Philip Miller 
 
POISON SUMACH. 99 
 
 and Mr. John Ellis. The mass of evidence seems 
 to justify the belief, that notwithstanding the re- 
 moteness of their situation, they are one and the 
 same species. The description of the oriental 
 tree, given in Ksempfer's Amcenitates exotics, 
 agrees very closely with that of the American 
 species. [JVo^e G.] Like our native Rhus, the 
 Japanese tree possesses a poisonous influence, 
 and frequently causes a severe cutaneous affection 
 in those who approach or gather it. It only re- 
 mains to shew, that a varnish may be obtained 
 from the American Ehus vernix, to furnish strong 
 presumptive evidence of the identity of the two. 
 
 If an incision be made in the bark of our 
 Rhus vernix in the spring or autumn, a quantity 
 of thick viscid fluid immediately exudes, and 
 sometimes with such rapidity as to drop off be- 
 fore it can be collected. This juice has an 
 Dpaque, whitish appearance, and a strong, pene- 
 trating, disagreeable smell. On exposure to the 
 atmosphere, its colour soon changes to a deep 
 black. It is extremely slow in drying, and per- 
 manently retains its black colour. 
 
 In the month of October, 1814, with the as- 
 sistance of Dr. Pierson, whose case is afterwards 
 described ; I collected several ounces of this juice 
 from a thicket of trees in Brighton. Being col- 
 
100 RHUS VERNIX. 
 
 lected in a pliial, it retained its whitish colour, 
 except at the surface, where it turned black from 
 its contact with the air in the upper part, lliis 
 juice was kept for more than two years without 
 any change in its appearance. In cold weather 
 it was extremely viscid, and flowed with difficulty. 
 Different portions of this juice were submitted 
 to chemical examination. It was perfectly insolu- 
 ble in water, although upon boiling with it, it 
 formed a thick emulsion. Alcohol dissolved it 
 sparingly, and the solution was rendered turbid 
 by water. jEther combined with it more large- 
 ly, forming a thick, opaque compound. Strong 
 sulphuric acid combined with it, producing a 
 black solid mass. Alkalies also combined with 
 it, and a strong solution of pearl ash dissolved a 
 portion of it, which was afterwards precipitated 
 hy sulphuric acid. It had an affinity for metallic 
 oxyds, and powdered litharge, upon being boiled 
 with it. rendered it nearly solid. In distillation 
 at the heat of boiling water, nothing came over 
 except a slight fdm upon the surface of the wa- 
 ter. When the heat was raised to the boiling 
 point of the juice, a quantity of thin, blackish, vol- 
 atile oil came over, which dried up on being ex- 
 posed to the air, leaving a slight coating on the 
 surface of the vessel which contained it. The 
 
POISON SUMACH. lOl 
 
 portion remaining in the retort was much inspis- 
 sated, and upon cooling became nearly solid. 
 
 Being desirous to try the effect of this juice, 
 employed as a varnish, I applied a coating of it 
 with a brush to different surfaces of wood, glass, 
 tinned iron, paper, and cloth. These were ex- 
 posed to the air and light during the whole of 
 the months of July and August, at the expira- 
 tion of which period they had not become dry. 
 Each of the coatings was half fluid and adhesive, 
 and had collected much dust. Upon the cloth 
 and paper the juice had spread extensively, giv- 
 ing them an oily appearance. 
 
 Concluding from this experiment that the 
 juice could not be usefully employed in its crude 
 state, I endeavoured to render it more drying by 
 the addition of litharge. The compound, which 
 resulted from boiling with this oxyd, became dry 
 in a short time, but was not distinguished for any 
 remarkable degree of lustre. 
 
 The third and last experiment proved more 
 satisfactory. A quantity of the juice was boiled 
 alone, until nearly all the volatile oil had escaped, 
 and the remainder was reduced almost to the 
 state of a resin. In this state it was applied while 
 warm to several substances, which after cooling 
 exhibited the most brilliant, glossy, jet black sur- 
 
103 RHUS VERNIX. 
 
 face. The coating appeared very durable and 
 firm, and was not affected by moisture. It was 
 elastic and perfectly opaque, and seemed calcu- 
 lated to answer the purposes of both paint and 
 varnish. 
 
 The chemical constitution of the juice of the 
 Rhus vernix seems, from the foregoing experi- 
 ments, to be most analogous to that of the bal- 
 sams, consisting chiefly of a resin and an essen- 
 tial oil. The oil dissipates slowly at low temper- 
 atures, approaching in this and some other res- 
 pects to the character of a fixed oil. The resin, 
 "when procured in contact with the atmospheric 
 air, is black, opaque, and solid, rendered very ad- 
 hesive, and at length fluid by heat. 
 
 A very distressing, cutaneous disease, it is 
 "well known, ensues in many persons from the con- 
 I tact, and even from the effluvium of this shrub, 
 I The poisonous influence which produces this af- 
 fection is common to several other trees and 
 plants, such as the Poison vine or Poison ivy, 
 (Rhus radicans,) the Cashew nut, (dnacardium 
 occidentale,) and the Manchineel, (Wppomane 
 inancinella») Even the garden Rue, and com- 
 mon Oleander, are said to ajffect some persons in 
 a similar manner. — The Rhus vernix is the most 
 formidable of this tribe which is found among us. 
 
POISON SUMACH. lOS 
 
 and occasionally produces the most severe effects* 
 It is however extremely various in its action, up- 
 on persons of different idosyncrasies. Some can- 
 not come within the atmosphere of the shrub, 
 without suffering the most violent consequences. 
 Others are but slightly affected by handling it, 
 and some can even rub, chew, and swallow the 
 leaves without the smallest inconvenience. 
 
 The most formidable cases in persons subject 
 to this poison, usually commence within twenty 
 four hours after the exposure. The interval is 
 sometimes longer, but more frequently shorter. 
 The symptoms are generally ushered in by a 
 sense of itching and a tumefaction of the hands 
 and face. The swelling gradually extends over 
 various parts of the body, assuming an erysipela- 
 tous appearance. The inflamed parts become 
 more elevated, acquiring a livid redness, attended 
 with a painful burning sensation. Small vesicles 
 now appear upon the surface, which extend and 
 run into each other. They contain a transparent 
 fluid, which by degrees becomes yellow, and at 
 length assumes a purulent appearance. A dis- 
 charge takes place from these vesicles or pustules, 
 giving rise to a yellowish incrustation, which af- 
 terwards becomes brown. In the mean time an 
 insupportable sensation of itching and burning is 
 
 \ 
 
 \ 
 
104 RHUS VERNIX. 
 
 felt. The inflamed parts become excessively 
 swollen, so that not unfrequently the eyes are 
 closed, and the countenance assumes a shapeless 
 and cadaverous appearance, which has been com- 
 pared to that in malignant small pox. The dis- 
 ease is usually at its height from the fourth to the 
 sixth day, after which the skin and incrustations 
 begin to separate from the diseased parts, and 
 the symptoms gradually subside. It is not com- 
 mon for any scars or permanent traces of the dis- 
 ease to remain. Notwithstanding the violent 
 character which it sometimes assumes, I never 
 knew an authenticated case of its terminating fa- 
 tally. It is however capable of occasioning the 
 most distressing symptoms. Kalm, in his travels 
 in North America, mentions a person who, by the 
 simple exhalation of the Rhus vernix, was swol- 
 len to such a degree, that " he was stiif as a log of 
 wood, and could only be turned about in sheets." 
 Dr. Thacher mentions a case, in which the head 
 and body were swollen to a prodigious degree, so 
 as to occasion the loss of sight for some time j and 
 the patient recovered at the end of several weeks 
 with the loss of his hair and nails. 
 
 Of the cases which have fallen under my no- 
 tice, the following affords a fair instance of the 
 operation of this poison, as it ordinarily effects 
 
POISON SUMACH. 405 
 
 those who are constitutionally liable to it. On the 
 27th of October, 1814, Dr. A. L. Pierson, then a 
 student of medicine, accompanied me to Brighton 
 for the purpose of collecting the juice of the Rhus 
 vernix, growing at that place. He had always 
 supposed himself constitutionally exempt from, 
 liability to the poison. The day proved warm, 
 and the eflluvium from the incisions we had made 
 in the trees was very powerful. We were engag- 
 ed in the collection for upwards of an hour, dur- 
 ing which he was less exposed than myself, be- 
 ing absent a part of the time. His own account 
 of the symptoms which followed this exposure is 
 as follows : 
 
 " I felt no unpleasant effects for six or seven 
 hours after returning to Boston, About 8 o'clock 
 P, M. I perceived the backs of my hands were 
 swollen and puffy, but without pain or itching ; 
 my forehead and upper lip were soon in the same 
 state. On the morning of the S8th the tumefac- 
 tion had increased, and I discovered various other 
 parts of my body to be infected. The backs of my 
 hands and wrists, which were the most advanced, 
 began to show small w atery vesicles, No appli- 
 cations were made till the nqon of this day. I 
 then applied cloths dipped in lead water to one 
 
 hand and wrist, and in a spirituous solution of the 
 14j 
 
108 RHUS VERNIX. 
 
 the coiTOsiye muriate of mercury to the other. 
 From this and subsequent trials, I am induced 
 to prefer the lead. The parts began to itch — 
 the tumefaction increased — vesication began to 
 take place on the swollen surface — small pustules 
 formed and ran into each other, and at last some 
 were formed as large as nutmegs. On the S9th, 
 my eyes were nearly closed, in consequence of 
 the swelling of my forehead, eyebrows and cheeks. 
 The contents of the vesicles were perfectly lim- 
 pid — inoculation from them to other parts had 
 no effect — ■neither in this nor any subsequent 
 stage. On the evening of the 30th, the inflam- 
 mation appeared at its height. The burning sen- 
 sation and itching were intolerable. I could scarce- 
 ly discern any object. On the 31st, the pustules 
 hegan to appear a little milky — and before night 
 the inflammation was evidently on the decline. 
 I this day applied an ointment, composed of Ung. 
 Stramonii, 1 oz.— Subm. Hyd. c. Ammonia (white 
 precipitate) 1 dr. mixed — with a very pleasant 
 effect. It was now soothing, although before it 
 had seemed to irritate, and produced pain when 
 applied. !Xovember 1st, a very free desquama- 
 tion began, first on my forehead, hands and wrists. 
 And in just a fortnight I was enabled to leave my 
 chamber, blessed with a new cuticle from the root 
 
POISON SUMACH. 107 
 
 of tbe hair on my forehead to my breast, from the 
 middle of my forearm to the tips of my fingers, 
 and on the whole inside of my thighs. The con- 
 stitutional effects of this thorough vesication were 
 but slight. During the first fire days, my pulses 
 were increased from ten to twenty strokes in the 
 minute. The time of duration of the inflamma- 
 tory symptoms in this case accords pretty well 
 with the account of Prof. Barton, who states, I 
 think, the height of it to be on the fifth day. It 
 is WLOi^th observing^ that the operation of the poi- 
 son seemed to have a considerable effect in reliev- 
 ing me from dispeptic symptoms, with which I 
 had been previously troubled, and also benefitted 
 a chronic inflammation of my eyes. I am stiM 
 subject to an eruption of watery pustules between 
 my fingers, which dry up, and the cuticle peels 
 off." Letter date dJuly, 1815. 
 
 Many constitutions are but slightly, or not at 
 all, affected by the poison of the Rhus vernLx. 
 This I find to be my own case. After the same 
 exposure, which occasioned the case just detailed, 
 I experienced no ill consequence, except a slight 
 vesicular eruption on the backs of the hands and 
 about the eyes, which disappeared in a short time, 
 without farther inconvenience. The same slight 
 affection I have felt upon several subsequent ex- 
 
108 RHUS VERNIX. 
 
 posures, particularly when making, from a recent 
 specimen, the drawing which accompanies tlus 
 account. 
 
 I apprehend that a majority of persons are not 
 liable to the injurious effects of the poisonous su- 
 macs. Among persons residing in the country, 
 exposures must occur yery frequently from the 
 abundance of these shrubs, especially of the Rhus 
 radicans, by roadsides and elsewhere. Very few 
 however, in proportion to the number exposed, 
 have personal experience of their deleterious ef- 
 fects. In those on the contrary, in whom a con- 
 stitutional liability to the poison exists, the disease 
 frequently returns several times during life, not- 
 withstanding the utmost precaution in avoiding 
 its causes. A gentleman residing in the coun- 
 try informed me, that he had been seven times 
 poisoned to the most violent degree. In such 
 constitutions a slight exposure is sufficient to ex- 
 cite the disease. I have known individuals bad- 
 ly poisoned in winter from the wood of the Rhus 
 vernix, accidentally burnt on the fire. Others 
 have made the same observation. 
 
 Some farther remarks on the poison of these 
 shrubs, and on the treatment of the disease oc- 
 casioned by them, will be made in a future part 
 of this work, under the head of Mhus radicans. 
 
POISON SUMACH. 109 
 
 Many interesting observations on the proper- 
 ties of these species of Sumach, will be found in 
 an inaugural dissertation, by Dr. Thomas Hors- 
 field of Bethlehem, Pa. a work of much industry 
 and merit. 
 
 In the New York Medical Repository is an 
 account of a swarm of bees, which, bavins: alisjlit- 
 ed on the branches of the Rhus vernix, were the 
 next day found dead, with their bodies black and 
 swollen. This is a remarkable circumstance. 
 There is certainly no instinctive aversion in these 
 animals for the tree. In the flowering season the 
 blossoms, which are very fragrant, are always 
 thronged with a multitude of winged insects in 
 quest of their honey. 
 
 The introduction of the juice into the arts 
 will not perhaps take place among us, during the 
 present high price of labour, and the general pre- 
 judice which exists against the shrub. In some fu- 
 ture period, it is probable that a substance, which is 
 found so valuable in the eastern countries, will 
 not be neglected among us. It might safely be 
 procured by persons not subject to the poison, 
 and, with proper precautions, would injure no one 
 during its preparation and use. A pound of the 
 juice in a day might be collected by an individ- 
 ual. When thoroughly dry, it ceases to emit an 
 
110 :rhus vernix. 
 
 effluvium, and nothing farther is to be apprehend- 
 ed from its effects. 
 
 BOTANICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 Rhus vernix Linn^us, Sp, pi. — Aiton, Hort. Kew. i. 366. — 
 MicHAUX, i. 183. — PuRSH, i. 205. — Pennated toxicodendron 
 Eu-is, Phil, trans, abr. xi. passim. American toxicodendron 
 Miller, ibid. — ^Toxicodendron carolinianura foliis pinnatis, 
 &c. Mazeas, ibid. x. 595. — Toxicodendron foliis alatis, fructu 
 rhomboideo, Dill. Elth. 390, t. £92,/. 377. — Arbor Americana 
 alatis foliis, succo lacteo, venenato, Plukenet, j7%f . 1. 145./. 1. 
 
 MEDICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 Dudley, Phil, trans, abr. vi. 507. — Sherard, ditto. 508.— 
 Kalm, travels^ i. 77. — Marshall, arbust. 130. — Cutler, Amer, 
 Acad. 427. — Barton, Coll. 24. — Thacher, Disp. 321. — Hor»- 
 riELD, Inaugural JJissertation, 
 
 PLATE X. 
 
 Fig. 1. Rhus vernix, with staminijerous flowers. 
 Fig. 2. A staminiferous or barren flower magnifledi. 
 Fig. 3. Stamens and rudiment of a pistil. 
 Fig. 4. .S fertile flower magnifled. 
 Fig. 5. Germ and stigmas. 
 Fig. 6. Thefmit. 
 
/v. ^ri. 
 
 
 
 
 f>/t/// f/t 
 
 itirr,-/^/r//r- ' • 
 
AMERICAN 
 
 MEDICAL BOTANY. 
 
 COOTUM MACTJLATUM. 
 
 Hemlock. 
 
 FLJITE XL 
 
 A PLANT bearing the name of Conium^ nrnziov. 
 lias been noted as a poison from remote antiquity. In 
 consequence of tlie power which it possessed when 
 given in sufficient quantities, of destroying life in 
 a certain and almost immediate manner, it was 
 used at Athens as a mode of execution for those 
 condemned to death by the tribunal of Areopagus. 
 Socrates andPhocion were among the distinguished 
 ancients, who suifered death by the agency of this 
 mortal poison. The accounts which have been 
 left respecting it would lead us to believe that its 
 operation was speedy, and unattended with any 
 violent or long protracted suffering. It was not 
 only employed as an instrument of public execu- 
 
114 CONIUM MACULATUM. 
 
 tions, but was resorted to by those who sought to 
 encounter suicide in its least formidable shape. 
 Among other instances, that of the Cean old men 
 is related by iElian, who when they had become 
 useless to the state, and tu-ed of the infirmities of 
 life ; invited each other to a banquet, and having 
 crowned themselves as in celebration of a joyous 
 festival ; drank the Conium, and terminated their 
 existence together. 
 
 The description which has been left by Di- 
 oscorides of the Conium, only shews it to have 
 been an umbellate plant, his character of which 
 might apply to many species. The mention 
 made of it by Latin writers under the name of 
 Cicuta are not more satisfactory. Linnseus, in- 
 fluenced by the noxious character of the modern 
 officinal Hemlock, has appropriated to that plant 
 the name of the Grecian species, and most subse- 
 quent botanists have followed liis example. Hal- 
 le r, however, is of opinion that the ancient poison 
 was not procured from this plant, but from the 
 Cicuta virosa L. a poisonous aquatic, much more 
 powerful and violent in its operation than the 
 common Hemlock. Lamarck adopts the opin- 
 ion of Linnaeus, and believes that the Conium ma- 
 culatum was really the Grrecian poison, and that 
 it3 properties were rendered more active by the 
 
HEMLOCK. 115 
 
 lieat of the climate in which it grew. Guersent 
 supposes that the poisonous draught used bj the 
 Greeks was not the product of a single species, 
 but a compound prepared from several plants. 
 
 Were it not for the tranquillity and ease 
 which attended death from the ancient hemlock, 
 and which Plato has described with interesting' 
 mmuteness, there would not have been much diffi- 
 culty in supposing the Grecian plant to be the same 
 with that known at the present day. [JVoie H.] It 
 appears that a lai^ge quantity was requisite to insure 
 death. The poison was swallowed in the crude 
 juice, recently expressed from the plant. Of this 
 the draught taken by Phocion was large enough to 
 cost twelve drachmae.^ Socrates was prevented 
 from making a libation of a part of the contents 
 of his fatal cup, by being told that the whole was 
 necessary to produce the consummation of his sen- 
 tence. A large quantity of the modern hemlock 
 might probably have been equally fatal, though 
 with more violent symptoms than those which, if 
 Plato be correct, were experienced hj the Atheni- 
 an philosopher. 
 
 The plant, represented in our plate, undoubt- 
 edly came to us from Europe. It is now suffi- 
 ciently common in the United States, about road 
 
 * Plutarch, Life of Phocion. 
 
116 CONIUM MACULATtJM. 
 
 sides and in waste ground, especially in those 
 parts of the country which have been longest set- 
 tled. It is usually found in bunches, and attains 
 the full height of a man. It flowers from June 
 until the arrival of frost. 
 
 The very natural order, called Umbellatge by 
 Linnaeus and Umbelliferse by Jussieu, to which 
 tliis plant and the following one belong, is found 
 in the class Pentandria and order Digynia of the 
 Linnsean artificial method. 
 
 The genus Conium of Linnseus has both 
 general and partial involucres, the latter being 
 halved. The fruit roundish and furrowed. 
 
 The species maculatum has the fruit un^ 
 armed with the ridges undulated^ 
 
 Its more complete description is as follows. 
 Boot biennial, somewhat fusiform and generally 
 branched. Stalk round, very smooth, striated, hol- 
 low, jointed, and more or less marked with pur- 
 plish spots. Leaves two or three times pinnate, 
 of a very bright green, with long, sheathing peti- 
 oles inserted on the joints of the stem ; the leafets 
 pinnatifid and toothed. Flowers in terminal 
 umbels, the general involucre with half a dozen 
 - lanceolate, reflected leafets, the partial involucre 
 with three or four situated on the outside. Flow- 
 ers very small, white. Petals five, oval with their 
 
HEMLOCK. 117 
 
 points inflexed. Stamens five, spreading, about the 
 length of the corolla. Germ inferior. Styles two 
 reflexed outwardly. Fruit roundish-oyal, com- 
 pressed, ribbed, the ribs being transyersely wrin- 
 kled or crenate ; separating into two oblong-hem- 
 ispherical seeds. 
 
 Hemlock when fresh has a strong nauseous 
 odour and taste. If the green leaves are distilledj 
 the water which collects in the receiver has an in- 
 supportably nauseous taste, while that wliich re- 
 mains in the retort is comparatively insipid. 
 This cu-cumstance, and likewise the fact that the 
 dried leaves become inert by age and exposure, 
 render it probable that the chief medicinal efficacy 
 resides in a volatile portion of the plant. Of the 
 more fixed ingredients of Hemlock, a variety of 
 analyses have been made. The most recent which 
 I have met with is that of Sclirader, who from a 
 thousand grains of the plant obtained the foUoAving 
 substances. Extractive 27.3 — Gummy extract 
 35.2 — Resin 1.5 — Albumen 3.1 — Green fsecula 
 8. — He also detected various earthy and alkaline 
 salts. These however are found to vary according 
 to the soil in which the plant grows. The vola- 
 tile portion, which I obtained in water distilled 
 from the leaves, did not exhibit any essential oil, 
 and effected no change in the colour of litmus. It 
 
118 CONIUM MACULATUM. 
 
 was not altered by sulphate of iron nor acetite of 
 lead. 
 
 The Coniuni maculatum is a narcotic poison, 
 though not of the most powerful kind. Instances of 
 fatal effects from it have been recorded by Dr. Wat- 
 son m the Pliilosophical Transactions, and by sev- 
 eral other writers. A remarkable case of this sort, 
 which occurred in Spain, is cited by Orfila in his 
 Traid des poisons. But there is scarcely any 
 narcotic plant respecting the character of which 
 such various and opposite testimony has been ad- 
 duced by medical writers. Even the experiments 
 of the same individual are apt to present different 
 results from its use, unless great care be taken in 
 the collection and preparation of the medicine. 
 The truth is, the plant varies exceedingly at differ- 
 ent ages, and in different places of growth, and the 
 strength of its preparations is greatly influenced by 
 external cu'cumstances. 
 
 When the green leaves of a mature plant 
 which has grown in the sun, or the juice of these 
 leaves, either crude, or properly inspissated, is 
 taken into the stomach ; the following symptoms, 
 if the quantity has been sufficient, will rarely fail 
 to take place ; viz. a dizziness of the head and 
 nausea of the stomach, a sense of fullness in the 
 eyes and diminished power of vision, together with 
 
HEMLOCK. iiQ 
 
 a general faintness or muscular weakness of the 
 whole body. These sensations usually begin in 
 the course of half an hour. If the dose has"" been 
 moderate, they will for the most part disappeai- 
 in the course of half a day, and seldom continue 
 beyond twenty four hours. Larger doses occasion 
 more severe symptoms, as it happens with other 
 narcotics. 
 
 The idiosyncrasies of different persons render 
 them variously susceptible of the action of Hem- 
 lock. Some are but slightly affected by a quanti- 
 tj, which would prove dangerous to others. 
 
 The Hemlock has been for many years a sub- 
 ject of attention with physicians, and has been 
 found a remedy of importance in several diseases. 
 It would occupy a volume to state the whole of 
 the evidences which have been given for and 
 against its use. I shall only mention those com. 
 plaints in which it has been most employed, and 
 particularly in this country. 
 
 In Jaundice— Dr. Fisher, President of the 
 Massachusetts Medical Society, in his paper on the 
 narcotic vegetables, bears unequivocal testimony 
 in favour of the efficacy of Hemlock in tliis com. 
 plaint. He was first induced to employ it with 
 a view to its relaxing effect in facilitating the 
 passage of biliary calculi. Afterwards it was 
 
 16 
 
ISt) CONIUM MACULATUjM. 
 
 gh en by him to many icteric patients, and witli 
 the exception of three complicated cases, it never 
 failed in his hands or witliin liis knowledge to re- 
 moYe the disease. Dr. Jackson, Professor of the 
 Theory and Practice of Physic in our University, 
 informs me that he has found it of great utility in 
 jaundice, and that except in one or two instances, 
 it has always effected the cure of those cases, 
 which proved susceptible of relief from any medi- 
 cine. I have repeatedl}^ employed it in the same 
 complaint with indubitable advantage. The dose 
 should be gradually increased until its effects are 
 distinctly felt in the head and stomach. This 
 inconvenience is temporary, and will be preferred 
 by most patients to the evil of a mercurial ptya- 
 lism. The yellowness of the skin and eyes, in fa- 
 vourable cases, begins to disappear at an early pe- 
 riod, frequently by the second day. — The forego- 
 ing practice in jaundice is not new, having been 
 employed in Sweden by Eosenstein, and in other 
 places. 
 
 In tic doloureux. In a discourse on this 
 painful disease by Dr. Jackson, }>ublished in the 
 Kew England Journal, Yol. II. a number of cases 
 are detailed, in which perfect relief was afforded by 
 the Hemlock given in large doses, and rapidly in- 
 creased until a decided effect upon the system was 
 
HEMLOCK. i2i 
 
 felt. Dr. Jackson recommends to begin with a 
 single gTain of the extract, and to increase to five 
 grains for the second or thu'd dose ; afterwards to 
 add five grains to every dose until a full effect is 
 felt on the system. In this discourse he cites the 
 experience of Dr. Fothergill, who had employed 
 the Conium successfully in several cases of tliis 
 disease under a different name. It appears also 
 that some French physicians, whose writings 1 
 have not seen, as Chaussier and Dumeril, have con- 
 firmed the success of our plant in tic dolom^eux. 
 It must he confessed however, although the Hem- 
 lock is more successful in this complaint than per- 
 haps any internal medicine, which has been tried ; 
 yet there are cases of such obstinacy, as wholly to 
 baffle the powers of its operation. 
 
 In scliirrus and cancer. Since the time of 
 Storck, tliis medicine has been long and abundant-. 
 ly tried, but without any increase of reputation. 
 The experience of modern physicians, and amono- 
 others of M. Alibert, who tried it in more than a 
 hundred cases in the hospital of St. Louis, have 
 pretty well established the fact, that it is wholly in- 
 capable of curing either scliirrus or cancer of the 
 confirmed and genuine kind. It is however still ad- 
 ministered, rather with a view to its anotlyne and 
 palliative efiect, than any expectation of radical ben- 
 
i22 CONIUMMACULATUM. 
 
 efit. In tills way its external use is sometimes 
 serviceable. 
 
 In old syphilitic affections, it is occasionally 
 useful. It lias been recommended in hooping 
 cough, but it is not a perfectly safe medicine for 
 cliildren, owing to the difficulty ofascertaining when 
 its constitutional effects take place in them. — I 
 am informed on the best medical authority, that it is 
 of great use in some cases of hemicrania, which 
 are not regularly intermittent. 
 
 The most common form of preserving the 
 Hemlock for use, as well as the most convenient for 
 its exhibition, is that of the inspissated juice or ex- 
 tract. It is well known however, that the extracts 
 kept in our shops differ materially in their strength, 
 so that in beginning from a new parcel, the physi- 
 cian can seldom predict the degree of operation of 
 his jSrst doses. In some instances very great quan- 
 tities have been taken without the least effect. 
 The extract is apt to prove inert when the plant 
 is gathered too young, when the evaporation is con- 
 ducted with too much heat, when a decoction of 
 the dried plant has been evaporated instead of the 
 fresh leaves, and lastly when the extract itself has 
 become old. To give the extract its due strength, 
 the plant should be collected at full maturity, while 
 in flower, or in fruit provided it remains green, and 
 
HEMLOCK. 123 
 
 tliejiiice or the decoction should be evaporated at 
 the heat of boiling salt water. The stock should be 
 renewed every year. A suitable dose for commence, 
 ment is from one to five grains. This may be in- 
 creased at every time of taking it, until its constitu- 
 tional effects are felt. In beginning the use of a 
 new parcel, more caution is requisite at first, than 
 after its strength has been tested. 
 
 The ^thusa cynapium, an umbellate plant 
 very common in Boston, has sometimes been mis- 
 taken for Hemlock, wliich it considerably resem- 
 bles. It is a smaller plant, with its stalk not spot- 
 ted. It differs also in having no general involucre, 
 wliile its partial one is very long. 
 
 BOTANICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 Conium Maculatum, LiiofiEus. Sp. PZ.— AVoodviile, t. 22.— 
 Curtis, Fl. Loud. i. 1 7 — Smith, Engl. Bot. 1. 1191.— Pttrsh, i. 
 195.— Ciciita vulgaris, Morisost, Umb. t. 6 — Parklyson, Theatr. 
 
 933 — Ciciita major, Lamarck, Encijdopedie Methodique Ci- 
 
 cutaria Tuigaris, Cittsitts, Hist. 200. 
 
 MEDICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 ^ Murray, Apparatus medicaminum, i. 322.— Cuilek, Mat. Med. 
 ii. 263.— FoTHERGTLt, Med. Obs. iii. 400.— Hu.vter on the ve- 
 nereal, 108, 175, 199, 247, &c.— Home, Jlnnals Med. iii. 66.— But- 
 TER, Med. Comment, i. 373.— Fisher, Mem. Mas. Soc. i.— Jack- 
 so^r, JX". Engl. Journ. ii. 105— Guersent. Diet. Sciences Medi- 
 rales, v. 208.— Orfila, Toxicologie, ill. 279, &c. &c. ^c. 
 
124} CONIUai MACULATUM. 
 
 PLATE XI. 
 
 Fig. 1. A branch of Coiiiummaculatum. 
 Fig. 2. Flower magnified. 
 Fig. 3. Fruit magnified. 
 
J'/..W . 
 
CICUTA MACULATA. 
 
 American Hemlock. 
 
 PLATE XU, 
 
 J-T is a rule sanctioned by the observations of 
 medical botanists, that umbelliferous plants, which 
 grow in or about the water, are of a poisonous na- 
 ture. This rule will generally be found correct, al- 
 though it has exceptions. As far as aquatic plants 
 of this natural order have been examined, theu* 
 properties, in a great majority of instances, have 
 been found, more or less of a deleterious kind. 
 The Clcuta virosa of Europe is a highly poisonous 
 plant, possessing such formidable activity that its 
 internal use is hardly attempted in medicine. An 
 American species, the Cicuta maculata, the sub- 
 ject of this article, is very closely allied in its bo- 
 tanical habit to the European plant, and was equal- 
 ly deserving of suspicion from its appearance, al- 
 though the public were not generally aware of its 
 true character. Witliin a few years past, several 
 
126 CICUTA MACULATA. 
 
 instances have been brought to light of fatal ef- 
 fects ensuing from tliis plant being incautiously 
 eaten by cliildren. It is therefore necessary that 
 the species should be suitably designated, that a 
 source of so much danger may be known and 
 avoided. 
 
 The Cicuta maculata, to which I have applied 
 the name of American Hemlock, not having 
 heard any common appellation except that of 
 Snakeweed, inhabits wet meadows and banks, from 
 the northern to the southern limits of the United 
 States, flowering in July and August. It is so fre- 
 quently cut with hay, among wliich it often grows 
 in lai'ge quantities, that we might expect to see its 
 deleterious properties operating on domestic cat- 
 tle, were it not that their bodies are probably less 
 susceptible of its poison than ours. The Euro- 
 pean Cicuta, above mentioned, is higlily noxious to 
 man, and to some domestic animals, yet goats and 
 sheep eat it with impunity. 
 
 The genus Cicuta differs from other genera 
 of umbellate plants in having no general involu- 
 cre, a short, partial involucre, and a fruit which is 
 nearly orbicular^ compressed and furrowed.^ 
 
 * This description of the fruit agrees with the present species 
 and also with Cicuta bulbifera, a smaller species not uncommon about 
 Boston. The Cicuta virosa of Europe I have never seen. 
 
AMERICAN HEMLOCK. 127 
 
 The species iiiaciilata has a fascicled root and 
 oblong leaves with mucronate serratures. 
 
 The class and orders are as in the last article. 
 
 This plant is so remarkable for the form of its 
 root, that had not the name of maculata been con- 
 firmed to me by the best authorities, I shonld 
 have thought that of fasciciilata to be greatly pre- 
 ferable. Tlus root is composed of a number of 
 large, oblong, fleshy tubers, diverging from the 
 base of the stem, and frequently being found of 
 the size and length of the finger. The root is pe- 
 rennial, and has a strong, penetrating smell and 
 taste. In various parts of the bark it contains 
 distinct cells or cavities, which are filled with a 
 yellowish resinous juice. The plant is from three 
 to six feet high. Its stem is smooth, branched at 
 top, hollow, jointed, striated, and commonly of a 
 purple colour, except when the plant grows in the 
 shade, in which case it is green. The leaves are 
 compound, the largest being about three times pin- 
 nate, the uppermost only ternate. Most of the pe» 
 tioles are furnished with long obtuse stipules, 
 which clasp the stem with theii* base. Leafets ob- 
 long acuminate, serrate, the serratures very acute or 
 mucronated. The veins end in the notches, and not 
 at the points of the serratures. The flowers grow 
 
 in umbels of a middling size, without a general invo- 
 17 
 
128 CICUTA MACULATA. 
 
 lucre. The partial umbels are furnished with iiir. 
 volucres of very short, narrow, acute leafets. The 
 distinctness or sepai^ation of these umbels charac- 
 terizes this plant at a distance among other plants 
 of its kind, whose umbels are more crowded. Ca- 
 lyx of five very minute segments. Petals five, 
 white, obovate with inflected points. Fruit nearly 
 orbicular, compressed, ten furrowed, crowned at 
 top, and separating into two semicircular seeds. 
 
 The fleshy root of the Cicuta maculata, when 
 pressed, emits from its divided extremities a viscid 
 yellowish juice of a strong penetrating taste. This 
 juice dissolves in alcohol, from wliich it is precipi- 
 tated by water. When distilled, a thick volatile 
 oil collects in the receiver in the form of a film 
 upon the surface of the water. The remainder of 
 the juice yields a resin of a dark orange colour, 
 fusible and inflammable. The decoction of the 
 root affords a pearl coloured fluid, not very sensi- 
 ble to the tests of mucus, fsecula, tannin or ex- 
 tractive. 
 
 In August 1814, an account was sent to Bos- 
 ton by Br. Stockbridge of Bath (Maine) of the ef- 
 fect protluced on three boys by eating a poisonous 
 root, which they had dug up, supposing it to be- 
 long to the plant called " Life of man." One of 
 them was siezed with violent convulsions, frothed 
 
AMERICAN HEMLOCK. ^gg 
 
 at the mouth, and died in an hour and a half. The 
 other two were affected with vomitmg, stupor, dil- 
 atation of the pupil, great paleness and universal 
 distress ; which symptoms disappeared m one in 
 twenty four, and in the other in thirty six hours. 
 It was supposed that the first boy had swallowed 
 about a drachm of the root, and the others about 
 half that quantity. A specimen of the plant was 
 sent to me at the same time with the account, and 
 proved to be the Cicuta maculata. Dr. Stock- 
 bridge's letter, wliich was published in the K^ew 
 England Journal, contains two other cases of the 
 effect of tliis root, in one of wliich it proved fatal. 
 Shortly after the publication of the above facts, 
 an article appeared in the New York Medical Re-' 
 pository, containing an account by Dr. Ely of 
 Butchess county, of the effects of an unknown 
 poisonous root, supposed to be the white helle. 
 bore. Three small boys, who had gone into a 
 meadow in search of sweet flag root, had dug up 
 and eaten another root hj mistake. Two of 
 them died in convulsions in about an hour after 
 they had swallowed it. They discharged much 
 blood and froth from the mouth and nose ; then- 
 eyes were fixed, with the pupils dilated, and a rapid 
 motion of the eye lids. The tlm^d boy vomited, 
 and recovered. When taken to the place the next 
 
130 CICUTA MACULATA. 
 
 day, he pointed out the spot where they had dug 
 the root, and where a considerable quantity of it 
 remamed. Some of the root was planted by Dr. 
 Mitcliill in the ]>few York Hospital garden, where 
 it vegetated and produced flowers and fruit. It 
 turned out to be the Cicuta maculata of Linnseus. 
 In the same article, is a letter from Dr. Muhlen- 
 berg, stating that he had received specimens from 
 Savannah and from West Pennsylvania, where it 
 had destroyed several persons, who ate it, by mis- 
 take for angelica. All the specimens were simi- 
 lar, so that there could be no doubt of the identity 
 of the plant. In the same letter. Dr. Muhlenberg 
 remarks, that he had reason to believe that the poi- 
 sonous quality of the root is altered by cultivation 
 in a dry soil. 
 
 The foregoing facts are sufficient to establish 
 the poisonous character of the plant under consid- 
 eration. They may also serve to shew the im- 
 portance of accm*ate descriptions and faithful en- 
 gravings of noxious vegetables, wliicli may enable 
 even unlearned observers to distinguish them at 
 sight. There can be little doubt that cases, like 
 those above described, have occurred iii repeated 
 instances, which have never met the l^ublic eye. 
 Perhaps also from an ignorance of the real cause 
 of the s^^nptoms, the proper remedies have been 
 
AMERICAN HEMLOCK. 131 
 
 neglected. The plant is extremely common in 
 many parts of the United States, and I believe its 
 true character is not generally suspected. A yery 
 respectable physician informed me, that it was 
 used in his vicinity as a gargle for sore tlii'oats, by 
 people unsuspicious of its qualities. 
 
 Since the discovery of its narcotic properties, 
 the Cicuta has been used in small doses, as a sub- 
 stitute for the conium, by one or two practitioners in 
 tills place. Its effects were very analogous to those 
 of the true hemlock, as far as they were observed, 
 but more powerful. A primary symptom, wliich 
 attended a large dose, was nausea and vomiting. 
 
 The treatment of persons poisoned by this 
 plant, as in the case of other narcotics, should pri- 
 marily consist in a thorough evacuation of the stom- 
 ach. As there commonly exists a spontaneous 
 tendency to vomit, occasioned by the poison itself, 
 this should be assisted by mechanical means, by 
 irritating the tliroat with the finger, or with a feath- 
 er. Of emetics, the sulphate of zinc is to be pre- 
 ferred, on account of its speetly operation. Cas- 
 tor oil or infusion of senna, shoukl be given as 
 soon as vomiting has taken place. The vegeta])le 
 acids, such as lemon juice or vinegar, have a neu- 
 tralizing influence on the narcotic, and are there- 
 fore useful. Stron^^' coffee and tea are the best an- 
 
iS2 CICUTA MACULATA. 
 
 tidotes for the stupor, and should be promptly ad- 
 ministered. In violent cases, bloodletting should 
 be resorted to. As most narcotic poisons act by 
 destroying the functions of the brain, respu'ation 
 being suspended, because it is under the influence 
 of that organ ; Mr. Brodie is of opinion, that in 
 some cases, life might be preserved by keeping up 
 ai^tificial respu^ation, after death has apparently 
 taken place. 
 
 BOTANICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 Cicuta maculata. Linnjbus Sp.pl. — ^Puesh, i 195. — ^gopo- 
 dium foliis lanceolatis, acuminatis, serratis. Gnoivovius, Virgt 
 32. — Angelica Caiibeearum elatior, olusatri folio ; flore albo 5 
 seminibus kiteis, striatis, cumiui odore et sapore ? Pxukenet, 
 Mm. 31, Phyt. t. 76, f. 1. 
 
 MEDICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 ScHffiPF, 36. — Bart. Coll. 18, 46. — Stockbeidge, JVetv 
 Engl. Journal, iii. 334. Mitchill, EtT and Muhlenberg, 
 
 Med. Repository, xvii. 303. 
 
ri.jcJJi. 
 
 Sr^ 
 
 ^^t€iCrrili4.y trytrf/oiffi 
 
KALMIA LATIFOLIA. 
 
 Mountain laurel. 
 
 PLATE xm. 
 
 A HE Swedish botanist, Peter Kalm, a pupil of 
 Linn^us, who travelled in North America in 
 1748 — 9, has had the honor of giving name to one 
 of the most elegant genera of flowering shrubs 
 wliich our continent produces. The genus named 
 Kalmia hj Linnaeus, includes several species, of 
 singular beauty, among which the Mountain lau- 
 rel is much the largest and most elegant, as well as 
 the one whose properties have received most atten- 
 tion. Its occurrence in the United States is very 
 frequent, and its common appellations of course va- 
 rious. The names of Laurel, Lambkill, Ivy, Spoon- 
 wood, and Calico bush, it seems, are applied to it in 
 various parts of the country. This slu'ub grows in 
 the southern parts of New Hampshire, and is oc- 
 casionally met with throughout Massachusetts. 
 In the Middle States it becomes more frequent, 
 
134 KALMIA LATIFOLIA. 
 
 and it is said to extend near to the southern lim- 
 its of the Union. Michaiix, in his account of the 
 forest trees, states, that it is particularly abundant 
 through the whole range of Allegany mountains, 
 upon the borders and near the sources of rivers. 
 It gradually diminishes however on both sides as 
 these rivers approach to the sea, or to then* con- 
 fluence with the great western streams. 
 
 The botanical character of the genus consists 
 in a jive parted calyoc^ a hy po crater if orm corolla^ 
 containing ten depressions in its border, in which 
 the anthers are lodged ; a capsule jive celled. 
 
 The specific chai*acter is, that the leaves are 
 scattered, petioled, oval and smooth ; the coryjnbs 
 terminal, viscid and pubescent. 
 
 Class Lecandria, order Monogynia. Katui^l 
 orders Bicornes, Linn. Mhododendra, Juss. 
 
 The height of the Kalmia latifolia is generally 
 that of a shiaib, sometimes however attaining to 
 the altitude of a small tree. Its leaves are ev- 
 ergreen, coriaceous, very smooth, with the under 
 side somewhat palest. Their form is oval, acute 
 and entire ; their insertion by scattered petioles, on 
 the sides and extremities of the branches. The 
 flowers vary from wliite to red; they grow in termi- 
 nal corymbs, simple or compound with opposite 
 branches, and made up of slender peduncles. These 
 
Mountain laurel. 13S^ 
 
 are invested with a glutinous pubescence, and sup- 
 ported at base by oyate, acuminate bractes. The 
 calyx is small, five parted, persistent, with oval, a- 
 cute segments. The corolla is nionopetalous, with 
 a cylindrical tube, a spreading disc, and an erect, five 
 cleft margin. At the circumference of the disc 
 on the inside, are ten depressions or pits, accom- 
 panied with corresponding prominences on the 
 outside. In these depressions the anthers are 
 found lodged at the time when the flower expands. 
 The stamens originate from the base of the corol- 
 la, and bend outwardly, so as to lotlge their an- 
 thers in the cells of the corolla. From tliis con- 
 finement they liberate themselves during the pe- 
 riod of flowering and strike against the sides of 
 the stigma. The germ is roundish, the style lon- 
 ger than the corolla and declined, the stigma ob- 
 tuse. Capsule roundish, depressed^ five ceiled 
 and five valved, with numerous small seeds. 
 
 I have examined chemically the leaves of the 
 ILalmia, gathered at the time the slii^ub'' was in 
 fruit. The following constituent principles' were 
 found to exist in them. 
 
 1. Vegetable mucus. This exists in large quan- 
 tities, and is dissolved in water both by infusion 
 and decoction, rendering it extremely muciia&i- 
 Eous or ropy. When alcohol is added to this so- 
 
136 KALMIA LATIFOLIA. 
 
 lution, the mucus separates in the form of a floe- 
 culent coagukim, which is tough and stringy, and 
 on di'jing has a brownish colour. When chewed, 
 it soon fills the mouth with mucilage. 
 
 Silicated potash rendered the upper stratum of 
 the liquid dark and opaque, but without any pre- 
 cipitate like that which takes place in the mucilage 
 of gum. 
 
 2, Tannin. This is readily thi^own down from 
 the decoction and tincture by gelatin. The sul- 
 phate of iron strikes with it a very black colour. 
 
 3. Resin. Tliis also exists plentifully. It 
 communicates to alcohol a reddish colour, and is 
 instantly precipitated from it by water. When 
 obtained pure, it is of a reddish cast, fusible, in- 
 flammable and moderately bitter. 
 
 I have not detected any extractive, properly 
 so called, in these leaves. When the muriate of 
 tin is added to the decoction, it separates a very 
 copious yellow precipitate. Tliis however is ow- 
 ing to the mucus. If alcohol be first added to the 
 decoction, and the coagulum which it forms with- 
 drawn ; the fluid no longer gives a precipitate with 
 muriate of tin, although it readily yields one to 
 gelatin. 
 
 Distillation with w ater affords a mild fluid with 
 little taste or odour. 
 
MOUNTAIN LAUREL. 137 
 
 The Kalmia latifolia, together with some oth- 
 er species of its genus, has long had the reputa- 
 tion, in various parts of the country, of heing poi- 
 sonous to certain domestic animals. Catesby says 
 of it, that "d«er feed on its green leayes with im- 
 punity ; yet when cattle and sheep, by severe win- 
 ters deprived of better food, feed on the leaves of 
 this plant, a great many of them die annually." 
 
 Kalm, the Swedish traveller, who gave name 
 to this genus, says of Kalmia latifolia, " The leaves 
 are poison to some animals, and food for others ; 
 experience has taught the people, that when sheep 
 eat of these leaves, they either die immediately, 
 or fall very sick, and recover with great difficulty. 
 The young and more tender sheep are killed by a 
 small portion, but the older ones can bear a stron- 
 ger dose. Yet this food will likewise prove mor» 
 tal to them, if they take too much of it. The 
 same noxious effect it shews in regard to calves 
 which eat too much of the leaves ; the}^ either dicj 
 or do not recover easily. I can remember that in 
 the year 1748 some calves ate of the leaves ; they 
 fell very sick, swelled, foamed at the mouth and 
 could hardly stand ; however, they were cured by 
 giving them gunpowder and other medicines. The 
 sheep are most exposed to be tempted with these 
 leaves in winter, for after having been kept in sta- 
 
138 KALMIA LATIFOLIA. 
 
 bles for some months, tliey are greedy of all greens^ 
 especially if the snow still lies upon the ground, 
 and therefore the green but poisonous leaves of 
 the Kalmia are to them very tempting. Horses, 
 oxen and cows, which have eaten them, have like- 
 wise been very ill after the meal, and though none 
 of them ever died of eating these leaves, yet most 
 people believed, that if they took too great a por- 
 tion of them, death would certainly be the result." 
 " On the other hand, the leaves of the Kalmia are 
 the food of stags, when the snow covers the ground 
 and hides all other provisions from them. There- 
 fore, if they be shot in winter, their bowels are 
 found filled with these leaves, and it is very extra- 
 ordinary, that if those bowels are given to dogs, 
 they become quite stupid, and, as it were, intoxi- 
 cated, and often fall so sick, that they seem to be 
 at the point of death ; but the people who have 
 eaten the venison have not felt the least indisposi- 
 tion." — Travels in JS'^orth America, vol. i. 
 
 There is a common belief, that the flesh of the 
 American Pheasant or Partridge is at certain 
 times imbued with a poisonous quality. This 
 cii'cumstance has been attributed (I know not with 
 what evidence) to their feeding in winter upon the 
 buds of the Kalmia. Mr. Wilson, the ornitholo- 
 gist, informs us, that he has sometimes found the 
 
MOUNTAIN LAUREL. 139 
 
 crops of these birds distended almost entii^ely with 
 laurel buds ; but that he has eaten freely of the 
 flesh of these very bu-ds, without any ill conse- 
 quence whatever. 
 
 On the human system, the Kalmia has been 
 also said to manifest a deleterious influence. The 
 late Professor Barton has atkluced some evidences 
 of its noxious character.* He states that the In- 
 dians make use of a decoction of the leaves to de- 
 stroy themselves. In an Inaugural Dissertation 
 on two species of Kalmia, the latifolia and angus- 
 tifolia, by Dr. G. K. Thomas, we are told that the 
 leaves of these shrubs possess a decidedly nai'cotic 
 property. I have not recently seen Dr. Thomas' 
 Dissertation, and therefore quote from memory 
 and from extracts. From his experiments howev- 
 er it appeared, that a very small quantity was suffi- 
 cient to produce sensible inconvenience. Thu*ty 
 drops of a strong decoction, given six times a day, 
 are said to have occasioned so much vertigo, as to 
 render it necessary to diminish the frequency of 
 its exhibition. 
 
 Fi-om my own experience, I am not disposed 
 to tliink very liighly of the narcotic power of the 
 
 * Dr. Barton states, that a few drops of the tincture poured upon 
 the body of a large and vigorous rattlesnake, killed the reptile in a 
 very short time. 
 
140 KALMIA LATIFOLIA. 
 
 Kalmia. I have repeatedly chewed and swallowed 
 agreenleaf of the largest size, without perceiving 
 the least effect in consequence. I have also seen 
 the powder, freshly made from leaves recently dri- 
 ed, taken in doses of from ten to twenty grainSj 
 without any subsequent inconvenience or percep- 
 tible effect. The taste of these leaves is perfectly 
 mild and mucilaginous, being less disagreeable 
 than that of most of our common forest leaves. 
 
 I am inclined to believe that the noxious eifect 
 of the Kalmia upon young grazing animals may 
 be in some measure attributed to its indigestible 
 quality, owing to the quantity of resin contained 
 in the leaves. 
 
 An ointment made of the powdered leaves has 
 been recommended in tinea capitis and some oth- 
 er cutaneous affections. I have seen an eruption, 
 very much resembling psora, removed by it. 
 
 The wood of the Kalmia is hard and dense, ap- 
 proaching in its character to that of box. It is 
 much used for the handles of mechanics' tools, ^c. 
 and it has even been employed as a material for 
 musical instruments. As an ornamental shrub, this 
 species stands in the highest rank, and by the fre- 
 quency of its growth and the brilliancy of its flow- 
 ers, it contributes in a great degree to the ele- 
 gance of the natural scenery in those mountains 
 
MOUNTAIN LAUREL. I4I 
 
 and woods, which it inhabits. When cultivated 
 in gardens, it requires a soil wliicli is somewhat 
 moist, and a shady or northern aspect. 
 
 BOTANICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 Kalmia latifolia, Liiv. Sp. ^Z.— Curtis, Bot. Mag. t. 175.— 
 MicHAux/. fibres forestiers, iii. 147", t. 5.— Pursh i. 296.— Cha- 
 msedaphne foliis tini, &c.— Catesby, Carolina, i'ut. 98.— Ledum 
 floribus buUatis. &c. Treav, t. 38.— Cistus cham^rhododendros, 
 &C. PXIIKENET, Phijt. t. 379,/. 6. 
 
 MEDICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 KAJ.M, travels, I 335, &c.— Bart. Coll. i. 18, 48; ii. 2$. 
 
 Thacher, Lisp. 247. — Thomas, Inaugural dissertation. 
 
 PLATE XIIL 
 
 Fig. 1. Branches of Kalmia latifolia with flowers and fruit. 
 
 Fig. 2. Stamens. 
 
 Fig. 3. Calyx and instil. 
 
SPIGELIA MARILANDICA. 
 
 Carolina Pink root. 
 
 PLATE XIV, 
 
 We are told by different writers, that this 
 fine plant is a native of all the southern states 
 from Pennsylvania to Georgia and Louisiana, 
 growing in rich soils, especially about the borders 
 of woods. It does not bear the severity of a nor- 
 thern winter. For my living specimens I was in- 
 debted to my excellent and learned friend, the 
 late Dr. James Macbride, of Charleston, S. C. 
 
 The genus Spigelia has a funnel shaped corol- 
 la and a capsule, which is double, two celled and 
 many seeded. The species Marilandica is peren- 
 nial, with a simple stem and opposite leaves. 
 
 Class PerifantlWft; order Monogynia, Natural 
 orders Stellatce, Lin. Gentianm, Juss. 
 
 The root of the Spigelia Marilandica is peren- 
 nial, with many fibrous branches. The stalks 
 proceed several from a root 5 they are simple 
 
pij^n 
 
 
CAROLINA PINK ROOT. 143 
 
 four sided and nearly smooth. Leaves opposite, 
 sessile, ovate, acuminate, entire, smooth, with the 
 mai^^ins and veins sometimes puhescent. The 
 stalk commonly terminates in a simple one-sided 
 raceme of flowers, although I have seen luxuriant 
 specimens with two. The peduncles are extreme- 
 ly short, so that the raceme may without impro- 
 priety be denominated a spike. Calyx persistent, 
 with five linear-subulate, finely serrulate leaves, 
 which are reflexed in the ripe fruit. Corolla five 
 times as long as the calyx, scarlet or crimson 
 without, orange coloured within, the tube inflated 
 and angular at top, the border divided into five 
 acute, spreading segments. Stamens very short, 
 inserted into the mouth of the corolla between the 
 segments ; anthers oblong-heart shaped. Germ 
 small, superior, ovate. Style longer than the co- 
 rolla, jointed near its base and bearded at the ex- 
 tremity. Capsule double, consisting of two, co- 
 hering, one celled, globular portions, seated on a 
 common receptacle. 
 
 The Spigelia is a mucilaginous plant, with a 
 mild and not very disagreeable taste. The infu- 
 sion and decoction of the root and leaves aiford 
 a flocculent precipitate with alcohol. They are 
 discoloured but not precipitated by silicated pot- 
 ash. They have little sensibility to gelatin, al- 
 19 
 
144 SPIGELIA MARILANDICA. 
 
 tliougli the tincture is made turbid by it. After the 
 decoction was filtrated from the mucus, which had 
 been coagulated by alcohol, it gave a precipitate 
 with nitrate of mercury, but none with muriate of 
 tin. Sulphate of iron caused a dark green precip- 
 itate from the decoction, and but little change in 
 the tincture. No distinct evidence of resin pre- 
 sented itself. A substance which may perhaps 
 be considered a variety of extractive matter, ap- 
 pears to exist in this plant, as the tincture was 
 affected in nearly the same manner by the salts 
 of tin and mercury above mentioned, as the fil- 
 trated decoction. 
 
 Water may be considered an adequate solvent 
 for the chief proximate principles of this plant. 
 
 The medicinal reputation of the Spigelia is 
 founded on the powers which it is supposed to 
 possess as a vermifuge. This reputation is now 
 so generally established, that the plant has be- 
 come a considerable article of commerce to vari- 
 ous parts of the world, from our southern states. 
 Tliis is a sufiicient evidence, that the medicine 
 has, to a certain extent, satisfied public expecta- 
 tion, and obtained the sanction of practitioners. 
 But beyond tliis, it is difficult to speak confident- 
 ly on the subject. The Spigelia belongs to a 
 class of medicines, which are frequently prescrib- 
 
CAROLINA PINK ROOT. 145 
 
 ed, without positive proof of the existence of the 
 cause which they are intended to remove ; which 
 often fail altogether in the hands of the most suc- 
 cessful practitioners ; which frequently succeed 
 merely because they are hacked with medicines 
 of a more active class ; and whose apparent suc- 
 cess is sometimes the consequence solely of a dis- 
 eased state of the body.* Our plant is however 
 entitled to trial, especially where it can be obtain- 
 ed fresh, and in full strength. A physician of the 
 southern states, for whose opinion I have much 
 respect, Dr. ISTorcom of Edenton, N. C. inform- 
 ed me some years since, that the Spigelia was 
 
 * From the list of equivocal anthelmintics, I would except those 
 which have a cathartic operation, also a number of mineral origin. 
 But I am fully persuaded, that many reputed vermifuges have en- 
 joyed a reputation which they do not deserve. The Dolichos pruriens 
 has received the commendations of practitioners and medical writers, 
 on the presumption that its spiculae exert the same stimulant effect on 
 the bodies of worms in the alimentary canal, that they do on the nu- 
 man skin externally. I was long ago inclined to doubt the power 
 of these spiculse to withstand the digestive process of the stomach. 
 My suspicions were confirmed upon finding that simple macera^ 
 lion in warm water for an nour, dissolves their virus, and renders 
 them incapable of producing their usual stimulus of itching, fwhen 
 applied to the skin. Some late experiments by my pupil, Dr. Chan- 
 dler, have shewn that the gastric juice destroys their activity in the 
 same manner. 
 
 It is not necessary in this place to revert to the Fern root of Mad- 
 ame Nouffer, and various other exploded anthelmintics of its kind. 
 
146 SPIGELIA MARILANDICA. 
 
 most active when recently dried, and tliat its 
 efficacy was always impaii'ed by keeping more 
 than six months. Dr. Garden had previously 
 made observations somewhat similar. If tliis be 
 the case, we may account for its failures in the 
 hands of those who obtain it at a distance when 
 half a dozen years old. 
 
 Drs. Lining, Garden, and Chalmers of Caroli- 
 na, are the writers who first introduced the Spi- 
 gelia to notice, and who have spoken most une- 
 quivocally in its praise. Each of these physi- 
 cians has represented it as an anthelmintic of 
 superior efficacy. It appears that under certain 
 circumstances, it is capable of operating as a ca- 
 thartic, and that in these instances, the most ad- 
 vantage has been experienced from it. Dr. Gar- 
 den says, that he had given it in hundreds of 
 cases, and that he " never found it do much good 
 except when it proved gently purgative." As the 
 action of the Spigelia upon the bowels is quite 
 uncfertain, most practitioners either unite, or fol- 
 low it with calomel or some purgative medicine. 
 
 We are told that the pink root, when in its 
 most active state, if given m large quantities, indu- 
 ces narcotic symptoms, such as stupor, headach, 
 dilated pupil, ^c. Dr. H. Thompson, who took 
 large doses of the root to try its effect on himself. 
 
CAROLINA PINK ROOT. 14^ 
 
 found that it produced an increased quickness of 
 the pulse, drowsiness, flushing of the face and 
 stiifness of the eyelids. Dr. Chalmers attributes 
 to its too free use the cases of two childi'en, who 
 died in convulsions. Dr. Macbride informs us 
 that its narcotic effects are seldom or never at- 
 tended with danger, and that some physicians 
 consider them an evidence of the favorable opera- 
 tion of the medicine. The opinion that tliis effect 
 is owing to the root of some deleterious plant 
 taken up with the Spigelia, seems to be void of 
 foundation. 
 
 As in most other perennial plants, the root of 
 the Spigelia possesses a greater share of activity 
 than the herb. Of this root ten grains may be 
 given in powder to a cliild four years old, twenty 
 to one which is seven, and a di-achm to an adult. 
 If no inconvenience ensue, it may be repeated two 
 or three times a day. If the infusion is prefer- 
 red, an ounce of the root may be infused in a pint 
 of water, and half the quantity taken by an adult 
 or one or two spoonfuls by a cliild. 
 
 BOTAISICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 Spigelia Marilandica, Liior. Sp, ^jZ.^Cfrtis, Bot. Mag. t. 
 
 80.— WooDviiXE, ii. t. 105.— Waxter, Flou Car. 92 -Mi- 
 
 cHAux, i, 147.— PuESH, i, 139 — EiiioTT, i. 236.— Lonlcera 
 
148 SPIGELIA MARILANDICA. 
 
 spicis terminalibus, &c. Gronov. Virg, SO. — ^Periclymeni Vir- 
 giniani flore cocoineo planta Marilandica, &c. Catesby, ii. U 78. 
 
 MEDICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 Chaimers, 071 the weather and diseases of South Carolina) i. 
 67. — Lining, Essay Sf phys. and lit, i. 436. Garden, ditto, iii. 
 145.— Home, Clin, exper, 420. — Murray, .ij)p. Med. i. 548— 
 Macbride, in Elliott's Car. 237. — Thompson, Inaug. JHss. 
 
 PLATE XIV. 
 
 Fig. 1. Spigelia Marilandica. 
 
 Fig. 2. The capsule with the reflected calyx. 
 
 Fig. 5. Corolla opened. 
 
FJ.n'. 
 
ASARUM CAIS^ADENSE. 
 
 Canada Snake root. Wild ginger. 
 
 PLATE XV. 
 
 A HE properties of this mild aromatic have 
 been so far misconceived, probably from its re- 
 lation to an European species, that it would be 
 improper in a work of this kind, to pass over it 
 without notice of its real character. It affords a 
 striking exception to the rule, that botanical affin- 
 ities are capable of indicating the medicinal 
 qualities of vegetables. This plant in its effect on 
 the human system, is widely different from the 
 European asarabacca, although it approaches it so 
 neai'ly in its form, that Michaux styles it " vix dis- 
 tinctum ab Europseo." 
 
 The As arum Canadense grows in old woods 
 and mountainous tracts from Canada to Cai^olina. 
 It is one of the humblest plants, presenting only 
 two leaves with their stalks, which appear to con- 
 stitute the whole of the plant above the ground. 
 
150 ASARUM CANADENSE. 
 
 On plucking the plant, the two leaves are found 
 connected below, with an obscui^e flower in their 
 fork, wliich had rested on the surface of the 
 ground, or been buried under the decayed leaves 
 and sod. Its flowering time is from May to July. 
 
 Tliis plant, from the number of its stamens, 
 is placed by Linnseus and Michaux in the class 
 Bodecandria. Pursh, who has omitted this class 
 in his Flora, has transferred the Asarums to Gy- 
 nandria, from the cu^cumstance that the stamens 
 are inserted on the germ. Tliis place however is 
 not better suited to the As arum, than to a multi- 
 tude of other plants whose germ is inferior. 
 
 Linnseus' natural order for this plant is Sar- 
 mentacece and Jussieu's Jiristolochice. 
 
 Generic character. Calyoo three or four cleft, 
 superior; corolla none; anthers growing to the 
 middle of the filaments. Capsule coriaceous, 
 crowned. 
 
 Specific character. Leaves two, reniform ; 
 calyoc ivoolly, cleft to the base; its segments 
 spreading at top. 
 
 The root of the Asarum is creeping, fleshy, 
 and somewhat jointed. Leaves kidney shaped, 
 pubescent on both sides, with long, round, haii'y 
 petioles. Flower solitary, growing from the fork 
 of the stem, on a pendulous hairy peduncle. Ca- 
 
WILD GINGER. 151 
 
 lyx very liaiiy or woolly, consisting of three broad, 
 concave leafets, which are mostly of a brownish 
 or dull purple on the inside at top and bottom, 
 and terminated by a long, spreading, inflected 
 point, with reflexed sides. The colour varies 
 greatly according to the amount of light which 
 the plant enjoys, being sometimes nearly green. 
 Stamens twelve, inserted on the germ at a dis- 
 tance from the calyx, the alternate ones longer. 
 Anthers growing to the filaments below theu^ ex- 
 tremity, l^ear the divisions of the calyx are 
 three sliort, curved, filamentary substances, which 
 may perhaps be called nectaries. Germ mferior, 
 somewhat hexagonal, marked at top inside with a 
 dark red line ; style conical, striate, parted at top 
 into six recurved, radiating stigmas. 
 
 The root of the As arum has an agreeable aro- 
 matic taste, which is intermediate between that of 
 ginger and the aristolochia serpentaria. This 
 quality has given it the names of Wild ginger and 
 Snake root in different sections of the country. 
 The name ColVsfoot is also applied to it. 
 
 The chemical trials, to which I have subjected 
 the root, bring to view the following substances: — 
 1. A light coloured, pungent, volatile oil, possess- 
 ing the characteristic taste and smell of the plant 
 
 in a high degree. 2. A resin, which is of a red- 
 20 
 
152 ASARUM CANADENSE. 
 
 dish colour and very bitter. These two constitu- 
 ents communicate to alcohol the active properties 
 of the plant. 3. Fcecula. 4. A gummy mucus. 
 Tliese exist in such quantities as to impede the 
 filtration of the decoction. Astringency hardly 
 exists in tliis root, as a gelatinous solution gave no 
 evidence of tannin, and the sulphate of iron pro- 
 duced a green colour hardly bordering on black. 
 It has been asserted, and the statement copied 
 from one book to another, that the Asarum Cana- 
 dense is a powerful emetic. I presume that sub- 
 sequent writers have taken their opinion from 
 Cornutus, who, in his plants of Canada, informs 
 us, that two spoonfuls of the juice of the leaves of 
 the Asarum, (meaning the European plant, rather 
 than the American,) ai^e found to evacuate the 
 stomach powerfully. I can hardly doubt, that if 
 such an operation has really been produced from 
 the Canadian species, it must have taken place 
 in irritable stomachs, to whom two spoonfuls of 
 any crude vegetable juice would have proved 
 emetic. Having seen the root of tliis plant used 
 in the country in considerable quantities as a 
 sudorific, I was long since induced to doubt its 
 emetic power. Subsequent experience has satis- 
 fied me that the freshly powdered root, given to 
 the extent of half a drachm, and probably in still 
 
WILD GINGER. j_^^ 
 
 larger quantity, excites no yomiting nor even 
 nausea. 
 
 Still however the plant deserves not to he dis- 
 carded from use. The aromatic flavour of the 
 root is more agreeable than that of the aristolochia 
 serpentaria, which article it seems to resemble 
 in its medicinal powers. Several country prac- 
 titioners, who have employed it, have spoken to 
 me favourably of its effect, as a warm stimulant 
 and diaphoretic. As a substitute for ginger, in 
 common domestic use, I know of no indigenous 
 article wliich promises so fairly as tliis. 
 
 Alcohol is the proper solvent for the active 
 properties of this plant. The tincture has a dark 
 red colour, and a highly concentrated taste of the 
 root. 
 
 BOTANICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 Asarum Canadense, hix. Sp. pl.—MicuAvx, i. £79 —Puksh 
 11. 596.-Asarumfoliisreniformibus,mucronatis, binis, GrJz.o' 
 vius, 72.— Asaron Canadense, Corl^utus, Canad, 24, t 25 — 
 Asaron Americanum, Parkinson, theatr. 266. 
 
 MEDICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 ScHffiPF, 72.— Bart. coll. 26, 48— Coxe, Disp. 568. 
 
154 AS ARUM CANADENSE. 
 
 PLATE XV. 
 
 Fig. 1. Asanmi Canadense. 
 
 Fig. 2. The germ with the stamens and nectareousJilaments» 
 
 Fig. 3. ►^ petal. 
 
 Fig. 4. ^ stamen a little magnified. 
 
 Fig. 5, ^^2/ie and stigmas magnijied^ 
 
p/^rn 
 
 
IRIS VERSICOLOE. 
 
 Blue Flag, or Flower de luce, 
 
 PLATE XVI. 
 
 In the Hortus Elthaiiiensis, published by 
 John J. Dillenius in 1732? there are figures of two 
 plants under the name of " Iris Americana versi- 
 color," the one with an entire, the other with a 
 crenate style. To one of these, the plant repre- 
 sented in our plate apparently belongs. This 
 plant however is so subject to variation in the 
 colour of its flowers, the crenatures and direction 
 of its stigmas, ^c. that it has received from differ- 
 ent botanists dissimilar names. The Linmean 
 characters of Iris versicolor and Virginica are 
 hardly sufficient to distinguish them from each 
 other. Our plant is the Iris versicolor of Muh- 
 lenburgh's catalogue, by his own declaration. In 
 the character of its stem however, it agrees equally 
 well with Iris virginica of Linnseus and Michaux. 
 It may be doubted whether the plant figured in 
 
156 IRIS VERSICOLOR. 
 
 the Botanical Magazine, t 703, is more than a va- 
 riety of this species. The characters taken from 
 the comparative length of the stem and leaves, 
 of the inner petals and stigmas, and the direction 
 of the stem and of the stigmas ; are all subject to 
 variation. Michaux, Elliott and Pursh make the 
 Virginica synonymous with Iris hexagona of Wal- 
 ter, which seems permanently distinguished by 
 the deep furrows in the angles of its capsule. 
 
 The Iris versicolor is found throughout the 
 United States in the borders of swamps and in 
 wet meadows, of which it forms a principal orna- 
 ment in the month of June. Ko race of vegeta- 
 bles can be better marked than the elegant genus 
 to which this plant belongs. They are essential- 
 ly distinguished by a corolla, parted into sisc seg- 
 ments or petals, of which three are rejleaced and 
 three are erect. The stigmas resembling petals. 
 The species m our plate has ensiform leaves, its 
 stem acute on one side, its capsules oblong, three 
 sided, with obtuse angles. 
 
 Class Triandria,— Order Monogynia.—NsLtnV' 
 al orders, Ensatw, Lin. Irides, Juss. 
 
 The root is fleshy, horizontal, sending down a 
 multitude of fibres. Stem two or three feet high, 
 round on one side, acute on the other, frequently 
 branched, and bearing from two to six flowers. 
 
BLUE FLAG. 157 
 
 Leaves sword shaped, striated, sheathing at base. 
 Bractes becoming scarious. Peduncles of yarious 
 length, flattened on the inside. Germ three cor- 
 nered, with flat sides and obtuse angles. Outer 
 petals of the flower spatulate, beardless, the bor- 
 der purple, the claw variegated with green, yel- 
 low and white, and veined with purple. Inner 
 petals erect, varying in shape from spatulate to 
 lanceolate, usually paler than the outer, entu'e or 
 emarginate. Style short, concealed; stigmas tliree, 
 petal-form, pm^ple or violet, resting on the outer 
 petals, then* extremeties bifid, crenate, and more 
 or less reflexed ; their lower lip short. Stamens 
 concealed under the stigmas, with oblong-Hnear 
 anthers. Capsule three celled, three valved ; 
 when ripe, oblong, turgid, three sided, with round- 
 ish angles. Seeds numerous, flat. 
 
 The young leaves of this and some other spe- 
 cies of Iris, aiford an excellent view of the spiral 
 filament, wliicli lines the sap vessels of the leaf. 
 If a leaf, which has just emerged from the gi^ound, 
 be carefully broken across, and the segments 
 , gradually drawn asunder, these fine filaments will 
 unroll themselves, and their spiral structure be- 
 come very obvious to the microscope. 
 
 The root of the Iris versicolor has a nauseous 
 taste, and when swallowed or held in the mouth. 
 
138 lllIS VERSICOLOR. 
 
 even in small quantities, it leaves behind a pow- 
 erful sense of heat and acrimony in the fauces. 
 Its most active chemical constituent appears to be 
 a resin, which separates in the form of a white 
 precipitate, when water is added to the alcoholic 
 solution. The decoction suffers little or no 
 change with alcohol, gelatin or salts of iron. Mu- 
 riate of tin aifects it slightly, the nitrate of mer- 
 cury more abundantly. Its taste is much weaker 
 than that of the tincture. Water distilled from 
 the root has a highly nauseous taste and odour. 
 
 The root of the Iris versicolor given medicin- 
 ally is an active cathartic. Mr. William Bartram, 
 in his travels in Georgia and Florida, informs us, 
 that on his arrival at Ottasse, an Indian town on 
 the Tallapoose, he found the natives " fasting, tak- 
 ing medicine, and praying, to avert a grevious ca- 
 lamity of sickness which had lately afflicted them, 
 and laid in the grave abundance of then* citizens. 
 The first seven or eight days, during which time 
 they eat or drink nothing, but a meagre gruel 
 made of a little corn-flour and water ; taking at 
 the same time, by way of medicine or physic, a 
 strong decoction of the roots of the Iris versicolor^ 
 wliich is a powerful cathartic. They hold this 
 root in high estimation, and every town cultivates 
 a little plantation of it, havihg a large artificial 
 
BLUE FLAG. 159 
 
 pond just without the town, planted and almost 
 overgrown with it." 
 
 Having myself formerly made use of this root 
 in dispensary practice, I can hear testimony to 
 its efficacy as a medicine, though not altogether 
 to its convenience. A small quantity of the re- 
 cent root, or a few grains of the root newly dried, 
 are generally certain and active in their operation 
 on the bowels. They are however apt to occasion 
 a distressing nausea like sea sickness, with a pros- 
 tration of strength of some hours' continuance ; 
 so that I think the plant will not he like to come 
 into favor as a cathai'tic, at least when better ones 
 are at hand. The activity of this article is dimin- 
 ished by age. 
 
 The stimulating properties of the Iris render 
 it capable of exciting many of the secretions, as 
 well as excretions. But I know of no purpose 
 for which it seems better calculated, than that of 
 a diuretic. The late Dr. Macbride of Carolina as- 
 sured me, that he had found great benefit in drop- 
 sical alFections from a decoction of the roots of this 
 plant in combination with those of Eryngium yuc- 
 cifolium. In consequence of iiis recommenda- 
 tion, I administered the tincture of the Iris in 
 small doses to several persons affected with ana- 
 sarca and with hydro thorax. It was evidently of 
 SI 
 
160 IRIS VERSICOLOR. 
 
 service to a majority of those who took it, for a cer- 
 tain time. That it did not always cure the dis- 
 ease, is a reproach which it must divide with diuret- 
 ic remedies of much older celehrity. 
 
 The Iris gracilis, a species descrihed in the 
 Florula Bostoniensis, the Iris pseudacorus of Eu- 
 rope, and several others of the genus, appear to 
 possess properties very similar to those of the 
 plant described. 
 
 BOTAJSICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 Iris versicolor, Lin. Sp. pi. — DtLiEiyius, Elth. t 155.—. 
 Curtis, Bot. Mag. t. 21, a variety. — ^Pursh, i. 29. — ^Eixiott^ 
 Can i. 45, Walter, Car, 67. 
 
 MEDICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 Bartram, travelSf 454, Lond. edit. — Cutier, Mem. Jimer, 
 Acad. 405 — 6. — Macbuibb, in Elliott^ s Car. i. 45. 
 
 PLATE XVI. 
 
 Fig. 1. Iris versicolor. 
 
 Fig. 2. Style and stigmas with a stamen. 
 
Ti .^rvn. 
 
 ,7ry/t.j<//. 
 
HY0SCYAMU8 NIGER. 
 
 Henbane. 
 
 FL^TE XVII.^ 
 
 There is little doubt that the Hyoscyamus of 
 this country is an imported plant. It is yet rare 
 in most parts of the country, and appears to be 
 strictly limited to the bounds of cultivation. Its 
 seeds are very tenacious of life, and will spring up 
 under favourable circumstances, after having been 
 dormant for a long time. Hence the plant occa- 
 sionally appears in old grounds which have been 
 newly disturbed, as in grave yards, old gardens 
 and cellars. About ten years since, a dizain, which 
 intersects the common in Boston, w^as opened for 
 the purpose of repau's. In the following season 
 a distinct row of very luxuriant plants of Henbane 
 covered the whole of this draui, although none of 
 them had been observed to grow in the vicinity 
 
 * For the drawing which accompanies this article, I am indebted 
 to Dr. S. Bass of Salem. 
 
163 HYOSCYAMUS NIGER. 
 
 the preceding year. The seeds, which produced 
 these plants, had probablj been biuied for more 
 than fifteen years. 
 
 This species, together with others of its genus, 
 was well known to the ancients under the same 
 name which it now bears. Its medicinal and 
 deleterious properties were also understood by 
 them. 
 
 In modern arrangements the Hyoscyamus in 
 common with Datura, Atropa and other injurious 
 vegetables of its kindi^ed, is found in the class and 
 order Fentdndria Monogynia, and the natural or- 
 der Luriilce. Its Jussieuean order is Solanece. 
 
 In tliis genus the corolla is funnel shaped 
 and obtuse, the stamens inclined, the capsule two 
 celled and covered with a lid. 
 
 The present species has the lower leaves sinu- 
 ated and clasping, and thejlowers sessile. It is 
 biennial and flowers in June and July. 
 
 The whole herb has a glaucous or sea green 
 colom*, is hau'y and viscid, and emits a rank, offen- 
 sive smell. The stalk is one or two feet high, 
 round, branching and rigid. The first leaves 
 spread upon the ground, and have some re- 
 semblance to a young thistle. They are large, 
 oblong, frequently contorted, clasping, cut into 
 
¥ 
 
 HENBANE. 163 
 
 acute lobes, and pointed ; the upper ones general- 
 ly entire. 
 
 The flowers form a revolute, one sided spike 
 at the end of the stem or branch, leaving, as they 
 fall off, a straight row of capsules. The calyx has 
 five short acute segments. The corolla is funnel 
 shaped, irregular, with five spreading, obtuse seg- 
 ments, of a pale yellow or straw colour, with a 
 beautiful net work of purple veins. Stamens in- 
 serted in the tube of the corolla, with lai^ge oblong 
 anthers. Style slender, longer than the stamens, 
 tleclined, with an obtuse stigma. Capsule two 
 celled, roundish, covered with a lid, and invested 
 with the persistent calyx, the segments of which 
 extend beyond the calyx, and become rigid and 
 prickly. The seeds are numerous, small, unequal, 
 brownish, and are discharged by the horizontal 
 separation of the lid. 
 
 From such chemical experiments as I have 
 made with the dried leaves of the Hyoscyamus, 
 I am inclined to believe, that their chief soluble 
 portion is a variety of extractive matter. The 
 watery and alcoholic solutions do not disturb each 
 other, and the usual tests of tannin produce in- 
 considerable, or no alteration in either. Of vari- 
 ous metallic salts which affected the solutions, the 
 
164 HYOSCYAMUS NIGER. 
 
 nitrate of mercury gave the largest precipitate in 
 my experiments. 
 
 The Hyoscyamus has long been known as a 
 narcotic poison. This character it uniformly ex- 
 erts in regard to mankind, although many brute 
 animals are exempt from its influence.* Diosco- 
 rides speaks of it as producing drowsiness and de- 
 lu'ium. 
 
 * Horses, goats, sheep and swine are said to eat it without inju- 
 ry. Brute animals are frequently less susceptible of the influence of 
 poisons than mankind. In the experiments which have been made on 
 them to test the effect of doubtful medicines, the positive evidences 
 of activity which they furnish, are in general more to be depended 
 on, than the negative. That is, if an animal suffers from the action 
 of any substance, a man would be like to suffer somewhat in the 
 same way. Yet if the animal escapes with impunity, it does not fol- 
 low that the man would be equally fortunate. There is scarcely any 
 narcotic plant which is not devoured by some species of quadruped. 
 Professor Pallas has stated , that the hedgehog can devour Cantharides 
 by hundreds without inconvenience, whereas one of these insects may 
 occasion serious trouble to a man. The following case happened un- 
 der my own observation. A large eagle, (Falco ossifragus,J intend- 
 ed for a cabinet of natural history, was subjected to a variety of ex- 
 periments, with a view to destroy him without injuring his plumage. 
 A number of mineral poisons were successively given him without 
 effect, even in large doses. At length a drachm of corrosive subli- 
 mate of mercury was inclosed in a small fish and given him to eat. 
 After swallowing the whole of this, he continued, to appearance, per- 
 fectly well and free from inconvenience. The next day an equal 
 quantity of arsenic was given him without any better success. So 
 that in the end, the refractory bird was obliged to be put to death by 
 mechanical means. 
 
HENBANE. 165 
 
 The instances recorded of deleterious conse- 
 quences, ensuing from the Hyoscyamus incau- 
 tiously taken, are exceedingly numerous. In a 
 number of cases the roots have been introduced 
 by mistake among culinary vegetables, and have 
 occasioned alarming symptoms in whole families 
 at once. In a case cited by Wepfer, the monks 
 of a whole monastery, in consequence of some 
 roots being boiled among those of chicory with 
 their food, were seized with raving delirium, ac- 
 companied by intense thirst, impaired vision and 
 other violent affections. Dr. Patouillat has re- 
 corded in the Philosophical Transactions, vol. 40, 
 the case of nine persons, who were affected with 
 loss of speech, convulsions, and at length with vi- 
 olent delirium. These symptoms subsided on 
 the subsequent day, when it was found that some 
 roots of Henbane had been dug up in the garden 
 the preceding day by mistake for parsnips, and 
 boiled in the soup on which the family had dined. 
 Sir Hans Sloane, in the same Transactions for 
 1733, has given an instance of effects equally dan- 
 gerous, occurring in some children who ate the 
 capsules of this plant, supposing them to be fil- 
 berds. Even the odour of this noxious vegetable 
 seems capable of exciting its characteristic ef- 
 fects. In a case cited bv Murray from the 
 
166 HYOSCYAMUS NIGER. 
 
 Gazette de Smite of 1773 — % some servants who 
 slept in a barn, where the Henbane had been 
 scattered for a defense against rats, awoke with 
 head-ach, dizziness and vomiting. 
 
 In instances where death has ensued from 
 swallowing this plant, the stomach has been 
 found to exhibit marks of inflammation, and dark 
 or gangrenous spots. 
 
 The principal use which is made of Hyoscya- 
 mus in medicine, is as a substitute for opium, in 
 cases where that article disagrees with the pa- 
 tient, or is contraindicated by particular symp- 
 toms. It appears to be free from the constipat- 
 ing qualities of opium, and in some instances it is 
 found to fulfil the indications which call for an 
 anodyne and soporific remarkably well. Among 
 medical writers who have spoken favourably of its 
 operation are Dr. Whytt, who employed it in va- 
 rious nervous diseases, and Mr. Burns, author of 
 different obstetric works, by whom it is recom- 
 mended as preferable to opium in certain puer- 
 peral complaints. Mr. Benjamin Bell states, that 
 he found great advantage from its use in trouble- 
 some cases of chordee, after opium had failed to 
 give relief. 
 
 It must be acknowledged however, that Hyos- 
 cyamus is far less uniform and equal in its opera- 
 
HENBANE. 167 
 
 tion than opium, and that although in some con- 
 stitutions it mitigates pain, quiets irritation, and 
 procures sleep ; yet in others it produces un- 
 pleasant nausea, confusion of ideas, head-acli, and 
 sleep which is lahorious and unrefreshing. It is 
 rather a secondary medicine, to he resorted to af- 
 ter the failure of opium, than one which we may 
 confidently apply to at first, with reliance on its 
 anodyne effects. 
 
 The Henhane w as found efficacious in the dis- 
 ease of colica pictorum hy Stoll and several others* 
 Its external application in the form of a cata- 
 plasm of the bruised leaves has given relief in va- 
 rious tumors and painful affections. 
 
 For internal use the extract should he prepar- 
 ed in the same way as that of stramonium. From 
 one to three grains of this extract is a suitable 
 commencing dose, which may be gradually in- 
 creased until its effects are perceived. 
 
 BOTANICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 Hyoscyamiis iiiger, Linf. Sp. pi. — Woodville, i. t. 52.— 
 SxMiTH, Engl. Bot. t. 591.— PussH, i. 141.--Hyoscyamiis flavus, 
 FrcHsius, Hist. 791.— Hyoscyamiis vulgaris, Bauhii^-, J, iii. 627. 
 
 MEDICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 Stoll, ratio med. iii. 13, 423. — Cullen, Mat. MeiL ii. 271.> 
 FoTHERGiLL, Med. Soc. Lond. i. 310. — Ho3IE> clinical escfts-. 
 22 
 
168 HYOSCYAMUS NIGER. 
 
 197. — ^Withering, Med. Cmiment. Bee. II, vi. SGr.— Kifg- 
 lAKE, Lond. Med. and Fhys. Journal^ v. 438. — Brown, dittOf iii. 
 406. — Murray, ^pp, Med. i. 655, &c. &c. 
 
 PLATE XVII. 
 
 Fig. 1. Hyoscijamus niger. 
 
 Fig. 2. Corolla laid open. 
 
 Fig. S. Calyx. 
 
 Fig. 4. Calyx of the fruit laid open to shew the capsuk within it. 
 
Tl .^ijn. 
 
 •<?»'»/ «r y^rr 
 
SOLANUM DULCAMAKA. 
 
 Bitter sweet. 
 
 FLATE XFIIL 
 
 ▼V HE THE R the plant represented in our plate 
 is originally of American growth, or has been in- 
 troduced since the discovery of this continent, it 
 is now difficult to say. It is certainly a hardy 
 vegetable, and although its natural soil is at the 
 water side, yet it easily becomes habituated to 
 shady, fertile ground of almost any elevation. 
 The most luxuriant specimens are found about 
 brooks and ditches and in sheltered situations, 
 where the roots have free access to water. In these 
 places the stalks frequently extend some way on 
 the surface, sending down a multitude of radicles 
 into the mud below. When the plant grows in 
 higher ground and more exposed to the light, its 
 growth is restricted, and the flowers are less bril- 
 liant in colour. 
 
170 SOLANUM DULCAMARA. 
 
 The names of Bitter sweet and Woody night" 
 shade are the most frequent English appellations 
 of this vegetable. The former of these is also ap- 
 plied to the Celastrus scandens, a very different 
 plant. The frequent changes which always take 
 place in the application of vulgar names, renders 
 a reliance on them unsafe, and indeed makes it 
 useless to collect or preseiTe more than a few of 
 the principal ones. 
 
 The genus Solanum is remarkable for the 
 great variety and almost opposite character which 
 takes place among its species. The common Po- 
 tatoe, the Egg plant, the Tomato, the Jerusalem 
 cherry, and the Black nightshade, are all species 
 of this multiform genus. The common character 
 which binds them together, consists in a rotate 
 corolla ; the anthers cohering^ with a double open- 
 ing at top ; the berry two celled. The species 
 Dulcamara is distinguished from others by its 
 stem, which is shrubby ; unarmed and fiexuous ; 
 its leaves auriculated ; and its panicles resembling 
 cymes. 
 
 Class Pentandria, — Order Monogynia, — Natu- 
 ral orders Luridw, Linn. Solanew, Juss. 
 
 The Bitter sweet is entitled to the character 
 of a vine rather than shrub. The stem is woody, 
 slender, climbing in large plants to the height of 
 
BITTER SWEET. 171 
 
 fiye or six feet. Leaves petioled, oYate, acute, en- 
 tire, furnished at the base with two appendages, 
 which give them somewhat of a hastate form. The 
 lower and upper leaves are frequently without 
 these appendages. The flowers form a loose, nod- 
 ding cluster or panicle, shaped like a cyme, and 
 taking its origin opposite to a leaf. Calyx of five 
 short, purplish, persistent segments. Corolla ro- 
 tate, becoming re flexed as it grows old, divided in- 
 to five acute segments, which are purple, and 
 marked with two whitish dots at the base of each. 
 The filaments are much shorter than the anthers, 
 and inserted in the short tube of the corolla. An- 
 thers yellov/, erect, cohering, so as to form a con- 
 ical tube around the style. Germ oval ; style 
 longer than the stamens ; stigma simple. The 
 berries are oval, of a bright scarlet colour, and 
 continue to hang in bunches after the leaves have 
 fallen. 
 
 The taste and smell of the Dulcamai'a are less 
 nauseous than those of many other species of So- 
 lanum. Water seems a perfect solvent for its 
 most sensible constituents. The chief soluble 
 portion seems to be a kind of mucous extractive, 
 which is taken up by both water and alcohol, 
 though most by the former. The nitrate of mer- 
 cury and muriate of tin, gave precipitates from 
 
±72 SOLANUM DULCAMARA. 
 
 both, though most from the water. The chemic- 
 al evidences of astringencj were very slight. 
 
 From the experiments of Hartmann and Kuhn, 
 cited by Mm^ay, we may infer that water is a 
 better solvent for this plant than alcohol. An 
 ounce of the twigs or stalks treated with alcohol 
 afforded two drachms and two scruples of extract. 
 The same quantity treated with water gave tliree 
 drachms and thirty five grains. 
 
 The Solanuni dulcamara has formerly receiv- 
 ed the commendations of many authors, some of 
 whose names are of high authority in medicine. 
 The diseases in which it has acquitted confidence, 
 are chronic rheumatism, gout, secondary syphilis, 
 incipient phthisis, asthma, jaundice. But what- 
 ever may be its efficacy in these complaints, it has 
 in modern practice given place to more active 
 medicines. Its most permanent and merited rep- 
 utation at the present day, is derived from its ap- 
 plication to external complaints, and particularly 
 to cutaneous diseases. In dissertations upon the 
 properties of this plant by Linnseus and by Car- 
 rere, its use is highly commended in herpes, in 
 scabies, and in some of the secondary forms of 
 syphilis. Professor Murray has added his own 
 testimony to that of these writers, and speaks de- 
 
BITTER SWEET. 173 
 
 cisively of his success witli it in cutaneous diseas- 
 es of an inveterate character. 
 
 In the more recent and splendid works of 
 Willan antl Bateman on Diseases of the Skin, 
 we find some important testimony of the efficacy 
 of the Dulcamara in cutaneous affections. The 
 former of these authors has inserted in his work 
 a letter of Dr. Crichton, physician to the West- 
 minster hospital, who had employed the article 
 for a considerahle numher of years. Tliis gen- 
 tleman states, that out of twenty three cases of 
 Lepra Gr^corum, in wliich he had used it, two 
 only had resisted its action. He does not assert 
 that it is equally efficacious in other cutaneous 
 diseases, although it had appeared to liim to do 
 good in psoriasis and pityiiasis. His mode of 
 employing it was as follows : 
 
 Take of stalks of Dulcamara, one ounce ; wa- 
 ter, a pound and a half ; boil to a pound, and 
 strain when cold. 
 
 Of this decoction the patient took two ounces 
 at first, morning", noon and night, but the quan- 
 tity was afterwards increased, until it amounted to 
 a pint per day. At the same time the skin was 
 ordered to be washed with a stronger decoction, 
 which proved an auxiliary to the cure. Dr. 
 Crichton found that in delicate people and hyster- 
 
174 SOLANUM DULCAMARA. 
 
 ical women, it often produced syncope and slight 
 palpitation of the heart, now and then nausea and 
 giddiness. But if the dose was diminished, or 
 any aromatic tincture added, it ceased to produce 
 uneasy symptoms. The good effects of the rem- 
 edy were seldom perceived until after the first 
 eight days. 
 
 Dr. Bateman considers, that '• one of the most 
 eifectual remedies for lepra under all its varieties 
 is the decoction of the leaves and twigs of the So- 
 lanum dulcamara." He administers it in the 
 same way with that just described. " When," 
 says he, " there is a degree of torpor in the super- 
 ficial vessels, the same decoction made with a 
 larger proportion of the shrub, is advantageously 
 employed as a lotion ; but if there is any inflam- 
 matory disposition, this and every other external 
 stimulus must be prohibited." 
 
 I have employed the Bitter sweet, both in sub- 
 stance and in decoction in a number of cutaneous 
 affections. It appears to be a valuable auxiliary 
 to mercury in the treatment of sypliilitic erup- 
 tions. I have also known herpetic eruptions to 
 yield to its internal and external use. The Amer- 
 ican plant however, when gathered in full vigour^ 
 does not set easily on the stomach in large doses. 
 I have known vomiting produced by a few grains 
 
BITTER SWEET. 175 
 
 of the powdered leaves, and by a small cup of the 
 decoction. The strength of the plant seems to 
 vary in some degree with the time of gather- 
 ing, and mode of preserving. Dr. Cnllen found 
 different parcels of the article to exhibit very dif- 
 ferent degrees of strength. Writers are not 
 agreed as to its immediate effects on the head and 
 stomach, probably from the different age and con- 
 dition of the medicine employed by them. From 
 my own observation I am induced to consider the 
 appearance of slight narcotic symptoms, as an ev- 
 idence of the goodness of the medicine, and as a 
 criterion for regulating the dose. The formula of 
 Dr. Crichton for the decoction appears to be a 
 good one, but in the case of delicate constitutions, 
 the commencing dose should not exceed an ounce^ 
 wliich may be afterwards increased according to 
 cu'cumstances. The addition of a little cinna- 
 mon renders the decoction less apt to offend the 
 stomach. 
 
 BOTANICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 Solaniim dulcamara, Linnjeus, Sp.pl.- — Woodvixle, t. S3.— 
 Smith, Engl Bot. t. 565. — Pursh, i. 156. — Solanum scandens, 
 seu dulcamara. — Tournetort, FariSf 43.— Glycypicros sive 
 amaradulci.s, J. Bauhiiv, ii. 109. 
 38 
 
lyg SOLANUM DULCAMARA. 
 
 MEDICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 BooERHAAVE, Hist. hovt L. B. 506. — LiNN^us, Amoen. Acad. 
 iv. 39, and viii. 62. — Murray, App. med. 60S. — Carrere, sur 
 la Bouce-amere, 1780, and in Med. and Phys. Journalf i. 307.— 
 CuilLEN, Mat. Med. ii. 554 — ^Wili-an, on Cutaneous diseaseSf 145, 
 — ^Bateman, on ditto f 35. — Oreila, des poisons, 192; 
 
 PLATE XVin. 
 
 Fig. 1. Solanum dulcamara. 
 
 Fig. 2. Corolla, 
 
 Fig. S. Tube of anthers laid open. 
 
 Fig. 4. Stamen, 
 
 Fig. 5. CaZt/x and jiisfi^. 
 
vv V7. 
 
 
 >''■'?■ ^1- ■^• 
 
 ^=J^^^//h' yC^f^^/a 
 
 Tia m. 
 
LOBELIA INFLATA. 
 
 Indian tobacco^ 
 
 PL^TE XIX, 
 In the United States there are many species 
 of Lobelia, wliich are interesting for their beauty 
 singularity or use. We have few plants more' 
 elegant than the cardinal flower, and few more 
 curious in structure than the Lobelia Dortmanna. 
 In medicinal powers, the subject of this article is 
 entitled to take precedence of the rest. It is an 
 annual plant, found in fields and road sides, from 
 Canada to the southern states. It flowers from 
 midsummer until the arrival of frosts. 
 
 The genus Lobelia h^^ a five cleft caly^ ; a 
 monopetalous, irregular corolla, with a cleft tube; 
 the anthers cohering; the capsule two or three 
 celled. 
 
 The species inflata is branching and hairy, 
 with ovate, serrate leaves, and turgid capsules. 
 
178 LOBELIA INFLATA. 
 
 The connexion of the anthers into a tube has 
 caused some ambiguity and difference of opinion, 
 as to the place wliich this genus should occupy, 
 in the Linn^an system. Linnseus placed it in his 
 order Monogamia of the class Syngenesia. Most 
 of our late botanists haye very properly remov- 
 ed the plants of this order from the compound 
 flowers, with which they have no natural affinity, 
 to Pentandria, which place their number of sta- 
 mens authorizes them to occupy. Pursh has pla- 
 ced the Lobelias under Monadelphia. The Nat- 
 ural order which contains them is the Cam- 
 panacem of Linnseus and Jussieu. 
 
 The Lobelia inflata vaiies in height from six 
 inches to two or three feet. The small plants are 
 nearly simple, the large ones much branched. 
 Eoot fibrous. Stem erect, in the full sized plant 
 much branched, angular, very hau*y. Leaves 
 scattered, sessile, oval, serrate, veiny and haiiy. 
 Flowers m spikes or racemes, pedunculated, each 
 one in the axil of a small leaf. Segments of the 
 calyx lineal*, acute, standing on the germ, which is 
 oval and striated. Corolla bluish purple, the 
 tube prismatic and cleft above, the segments 
 spreading, acute, the two upper ones lanceolate, 
 the three lower ones oval. Anthers collected in- 
 to an oblong, curved body, purple ; fdaments 
 
INDIAN TOBACCO. 179 
 
 wliite. Style filiform ; stigma cm*ved and inclos- 
 ed by the anthers. Capsides two celled, tui'gid, 
 oval, compressed, ten angled, covered with the ca- 
 lyx. Seeds numerous, small, oblong, brown. 
 
 The Lobelia inflata when broken, emits a milky 
 juice. When chewed, it communicates to the 
 mouth a burning, acrimonious sensation, not un- 
 like the taste of green tobacco. It exhibits the 
 following noticeable ingredients upon chemical 
 examination. 1. An acritl principle. This is ev- 
 ident to the taste in the tmcture, decoction, and 
 distilled water. S. Caoutchouc. Sulphuric ether 
 dissolves more of the plant than alcohol, and ac- 
 quires a higher colour. The solution in alcohol 
 is scarcely rendered turbid by water, that in ether 
 is disturbed by alcohol, and grows tliick as the 
 ether evaporates. 3. Extractive. 'No gummy or 
 astringent fjualities were manifested in my exper- 
 iments. 
 
 The great acrimony of the leaves and capsules, 
 combined with a narcotic property, appears to be 
 the foundation of their medicinal power. Dr. 
 Cutler informs us, that if the leaves be held for 
 some time in the mouth, they produce giddiness 
 and pain in the head, with a trembling agitation 
 of the whole body, and at length bring on nausea 
 and vomiting. These effects are analagous to 
 
180 LOBELIA INFLATA. 
 
 those, which the chewing or smoking of tohacco 
 occasions in persons unaccustomed to its use. 
 
 When swallowed in substance, it excites very 
 speedy vomiting, accompanied with distressing 
 and long continued sickness, and even with dan- 
 gerous symptoms, if the dose he large. A melan- 
 choly instance of death, occasioned hy the use of 
 this plant, in the hands of a quack, is detailed in 
 the sixth volume of the Massachusetts Reports, in 
 the trial of Samuel Thomson, an empiric practising 
 in Beverly, for the murder of Ezra Lovett, In 
 this trial it appeared, that the patient, being con- 
 fined by a cold, sent for the pretended physician, 
 who gave liim three powders of Lobelia in the 
 course of half an hour, each of wliich vomited liim 
 violently, and left him in a great perspiration 
 during the night. The next day two more pow- 
 ders were administered, each of which operated 
 by vomiting and occasioned great distress. In 
 like manner two other powders were given the 
 subsequent day, leaving the patient in a state 
 of great prostration. Several days after this, the 
 physician came again, and finding his patient 
 still worse, administered several more powders, 
 which occasioned great distress, and at length 
 ceased to operate. Finding that the stomach was 
 not sensible to the emetic effect of the Lobelia, 
 
INDIAN TOBACCO. 181 
 
 the physician repeated the dose, and when the pa- 
 tient complained of great distress at the hreast 
 and said he was dying, the doctor assured him the 
 medicine would soon get down, or operate as a ca- 
 thartic. However, on the same evening, the pa- 
 tient lost his reason and became convulsed, so that 
 two men were required to hold him. To relieve 
 which, the doctor forced down two more of his 
 powders, and the patient, as was to be expected, 
 grew worse, and continued so until he expired. 
 
 The doctor, who had thus terminated the dis- 
 ease and the patient at once, was arrested and put 
 upon trial for murder ; but the homicide proving 
 a legitimate one from the want of sufficient evi- 
 dence of malice propense, he was acquitted and 
 set at liberty. 
 
 From the violence of its effects, and the dis- 
 tressing nausea which it occasions, it is probable 
 that the Lobelia will never come into use for the 
 common purposes of an emetic, while other emet- 
 ics can be obtained. , It has however been found 
 to exert a beneficial influence on particular diseas- 
 es, and on this account is entitled to a place in 
 the Materia Medica. Dr. Cutler, and a number 
 of physicians in Essex county and elsewhere, have 
 found benefit from its use in asthma, some in dos- 
 es of a table spoonful of the saturated tincture, 
 
18S LOBELIA INPLATA. 
 
 others in doses of a teaspoonfiil. Indeed the for- 
 mer dose appears to be a very large one, and 
 greater than most stomachs would bear with im- 
 punity. I have tried tliis medicine in several 
 cases of asthma with some advantage. It has 
 not however in general succeeded in affording re- 
 lief of the paroxysm, until full vomiting was pro- 
 duced, which effect, with me, has happened after 
 taking one or two teaspoonfuls. 
 
 A communication from Dr. Cutler, on the op- 
 eration of this plant, is inserted in Dr. Thacher's 
 Dispensatory. The venerable writer having him- 
 self suffered from asthma for ten years, had, dur- 
 ing the paroxysms, resorted to many medicines 
 for relief, without experiencing much benefit from 
 any. He was at length induced to make trial of 
 a tincture, prepared by liimself from the Lobelia 
 inflata. " In a paroxysm," says he, "which per- 
 haps was as severe as I had ever experienced ; 
 the difficulty of breathing extreme, and after it 
 had continued for a considerable time, I took a ta- 
 ble spoonful. In three or four minutes my breath- 
 ing was as free as it ever was, but I felt no nau- 
 sea at the stomach. In ten minutes I took anoth- 
 er spoonful, which occasioned sickness. After 
 ten minutes I took a thu'd, which produced sensi- 
 ble effects upon the coats of the stomach, and a 
 
/ 
 
 INDIAN TOBACCO. 183 
 
 very little moderate puking^ and a kind of prickly 
 sensation through the whole system, even to the 
 extremities of the fingers and toes. But all 
 these sensations very soon subsided, and a vigour 
 seemed to be restored to the constitution, which I 
 had not experienced for years. I have not since 
 had a paroxysm, and only a few times some small 
 symptoms of asthma. Besides the violent at- 
 tacks, I had scarcely passed a night without more 
 or less of it, and often so as not to be able to lie in 
 bed. Since that time I have enjoyed as good 
 health, as perhaps before the first attack." 
 
 Dr. Cutler considers his disease to be what 
 Dr. Bree in his " Practical inquiries on disorder- 
 ed respiration" calls the first species, " an asthma 
 from pulmonic iiTitation of effused serum." 
 
 Dr. Randall informs me, that he has given the 
 Lobelia to many persons of different ages suffer- 
 ing from asthma and catarrh, and with considera- 
 ble variation in the form and degree of the dose. 
 In asthma he finds it as successful as any article 
 he has tried. When given in doses of a drachm 
 of the saturated tincture, and two or three times 
 repeated at convenient intervals ; also in the form 
 of other preparations of similar strength, he has 
 found it usually to remove the paroxysm in a 
 
 short time, and to restore the patient to qui- 
 
 24 
 
184 LOBELIA INFLATA. 
 
 etude and case. In catarrh, when given in 
 small doses and frequently repeated, it has op- 
 erated as a sure and speedy expectorant, pro- 
 ducin,^ effects in then' most important character, 
 very similar to those of antimony and squills. 
 Dr. Randall has not observed any narcotic effect 
 to ensue from moderate doses, nor found it to pro- 
 duce uTitation of the coats of the bladder, as has 
 been suggested by some practitioners. In his 
 hands it has not produced any more unpleasant 
 consequence than frequent nausea, and occasional 
 emesis, with a copious flow from the glands of the 
 mouth. 
 
 Dr. Bradstreet of Newburyport acquaints me, 
 that besides asthmatic cases, he has given the sat- 
 urated tincture in two or three instances of dys- 
 pepsia, also in some cases of a rheumatic nature 
 with beneficial consequences. 
 
 He considers its sensible effects to be very 
 like those of common tobacco, but its medicinal 
 action moi*e speedy and difilisible, and of shorter 
 duration. He thmks that it affects those accus- 
 tomed to the use of tobacco as readily as others. 
 
 The Lobelia has been recommended as a rem- 
 edy in hooping cough and croup. In the former 
 of these complaints, I can say nothing of its use 
 from experience, but in the latter disease I am 
 
INDIAN TOBACCO. 180 
 
 persuaded, it aifords no benefit, having seen it 
 largely tried b j different practitioners in a number 
 of fatal cases, where it only produced a distress- 
 ing nausea, without, in any degree, facilitating the 
 respiration, or relieving the disease. 
 
 The active properties of the Lobelia are readi- 
 ly extracted both by water and alcohol. The tinc- 
 ture however is most easily kept, and is the most 
 convenient form for exhibition. The Essex dis- 
 trict medical society have recommended a formu- 
 la for this composition, which dii'ects two ounces 
 of the dried plant to be digested in a pint of di- 
 luted alcohol. Of this tincture, a teaspoonful giv- 
 en to an adult, will generally produce nausea, and 
 sometimes vomiting. In certain instances how- 
 ever, much larger doses have been given, without 
 producing any other effect than a flow of saliva. 
 
 BOTANICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 Lobelia inflata, Lijf. Sp. pi. — Act. Vjjsal 1741, p. 23, t 1.— 
 Gronovius, Virg. 134.— Wiild. Sp,plA. 946.— Michaux, ii, 
 142. — PuESH, ii. 448. 
 
 MEDICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 Ctjtlee, Mem. Jimer. Jlcad. i. 484 Schoepf, 128. — Bart, 
 
 CoL 36, 56.— Thacher, Disp. Q67,— Massachusetts Reports^ 
 vol, vi. 
 
186 LOBELIA INFLATA. 
 
 PLATE XIX. 
 
 Fig. 1. Lobelia injlata. 
 
 Fig. 2. Corolla with the stamens projecting from the cleft in the 
 upper side. 
 
 Fig. 5. Capside cut across. 
 
ri^^jr 
 
 ' ',.<flf-etfi 
 
 7' 
 
 >f/f>^'^. 
 
SOLIDAGO ODOEA. 
 
 Sweet scented Golden rod. 
 
 TLdTE XX. 
 
 JN o part of vegetation in the United States is 
 so conspicuous and gaudy in the autumnal months, 
 and at the same time furnishes to the botanist so 
 difficult a task of discrimination, as the multitu- 
 dinous and Protean genera Solidago and Aster. 
 Each of these genera contains many well defined 
 species, sufficiently marked by their external 
 characters, sensible qualities, habits and places of 
 growth. But between them, is a great multitude 
 of subspecies, liable to variation from external 
 circumstances, changing their appearance with 
 their places of growth, and running together by 
 so many points of resemblance, that it is a labour 
 yet remaining for botanists to separate those 
 species which are in nature distinct, from those 
 which are varieties onlv. 
 
188 SOLIDAGO ODORA. 
 
 The genus Solidago is characterized by a na- 
 ked receptacle, the down simple, rays of the corolla 
 about Jive, scales of the Qalyao imbricated and close. 
 It is a very natural genus, easily distinguished at 
 sight by its crowded tufts of compound flowers, 
 which are almost always of a deep golden yellow.* 
 
 The species odora has its stem nearly smooth, 
 leaves linear-lanceolate, entire, smooth, with a 
 rough margin, and covered with pellucid dots, 
 Macemes panicled, one sided. 
 
 Class Syngenesia, — Order Superjiua, — Natural 
 orders Compositor, Lin. Corymhiferce, Juss. 
 
 The sweet scented Golden rod grows in wootls 
 and fields throughout the United States, and flow- 
 ers in September. It has a smooth appearance, 
 and is among the smaller species of its family. 
 The root is woody, much branched and creeping. 
 Stem slender, from two to three feet high, smooth 
 or slightly pubescent below, pubescent at top. 
 The leaves are linear-lanceolate, closely sessile, 
 broad at base, entire, acute, with only the midrib 
 distinct, rough at the margin but otherwise 
 smooth, and covered with pellucid dots, like Hy- 
 pericum perforatum. The flowers grow in a com- 
 pound, panicled raceme, with each of its branches 
 
 * The only exception which I now recollect is Solidago hicoloTy 
 whose ray is white. 
 
SWEET SCENTED GOLDEN ROD. 189 
 
 supported by a small leaf. These branches or 
 peduncles are very slender and rigid, each giving 
 off a row of ascending, downy pedicels, with small, 
 linear bractes at their bases. Scales of the calyx 
 oblong, acute, smooth, or slightly pubescent, the 
 lower ones shorter and closely imbricating the 
 rest. Florets of the ray few, with oblong, obtuse, 
 ligules. Those of the disc funnel shaped, with 
 acute segments. Down simple to the naked eye, 
 feathery under the microscope. Seeds oblong. 
 
 This plant is the Solidago odora of Muhlen- 
 berg, and agrees with the character of Alton. 
 The Solidago odora of Michaux is possibly a differ- 
 ent species. Willdenow's plant was undoubtedly 
 different. The folia pmicticulosa, which consti- 
 tutes so distinct a mark in this species, I have 
 not seen noticed by any botanist. 
 
 The leaves of the Solidao:o otlora have a delio'lit- 
 fully fragrant odour, partaking of that of anise and 
 sassafras, but different from either. When sub- 
 jected to distillation, a volatile oil, possessing the 
 taste and aroma of the plant in a high degree, col- 
 lects in the receiver. This oil apparently has its 
 residence in the transparent cells, which consti- 
 tute the dotting of the leaves, for the root is whol- 
 ly destitute of the peculiar fragrance of the herb, 
 and has rather a nauseous taste. This is contra- 
 
190 SOLID AGO ODORA. 
 
 ry to the remark of Willdenow, who informs us that 
 the root is the fragrant part possessing the scent 
 of Geum urbanum. 
 
 As the volatile oil appears to possess all the 
 medicinal v alue of this plant, I haye not proseciit- 
 ed its chemical investigation any farther. 
 
 The claims of the Solidago to stand as an ar- 
 ticle of the Materia Medica are of a humble, but 
 not despicable kind. We import and consume 
 many foreign drugs which possess no virtue be- 
 yond that of being aromatic, pleasant to the taste, 
 gently stimulant, diaphoretic and carminative. 
 All these properties the Golden rod seems fully to 
 possess. An essence macle by dissolving the es- 
 sential oil in proof spirit, is used in the eastern 
 states as a remedy in complaints, arising from flat- 
 ulence, and as a vehicle for unpleasant medicines 
 of various kinds. I have employed it to allay 
 vomiting, and to relieve spasmodic pains in the 
 stomach of the milder kind, with satisfactory suc- 
 cess. From its pleasant flavour, it serves to cover 
 the taste of laudanum, castor oil, and other med- 
 icines, whose disagreeable taste causes them to 
 be rejected by delicate and irritable stomachs. 
 
 Mr. Pursh inforins us, that this plant when 
 dried, is used in some parts of the United States as 
 an agreeable substitute for tea. He further states. 
 
GOLDEN ROD. 191 
 
 that it has for some time been an article of ex- 
 portation to China, where it fetches a liigh price. 
 
 BOTANICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 Solidago odora, Aiton, Eort. Keiv. iii. 214. — Puesh, ii. 539. 
 — Virga Aurea Americana, Tarraconis facie et sapore, panicu- 
 la speciosissima ? TiaUHewet, Mm, 389? t. 116,/, 6. 
 
 PLATE XX. 
 
 Fig. 1. Solida odora. 
 Fig. 2. Ajiower magnified. 
 Fig. 3. AJloret of the ray. 
 Fig. 4. AJloretof the disc. 
 
 25 
 
NOTES. 
 
 jMost European writers seem to considei* the Datura stra- 
 monium as a native of America. In Miller's Dictionary by 
 Martyn, the editor says, « That it is a native of America, we 
 have the most undoubted proofs, for in earth brought with 
 plants from various paiis of that extensive country, we are sure 
 to have the Tliorn apple come up. Kalm says, that it grows 
 about all the villages, and that this and the Phytolacca are the 
 worst weeds there. Our old writers call it Thorny Apples of 
 Peru." 
 
 This evidence however is by no means sufficient. The plant 
 appears in earth and ballast, carried from either continent alike. 
 The name Apple of Peru has also been applied to Datura metel, 
 a plant of Africa and the East Indies. 
 
 JVofe B. 
 
 In the Catalogue of plants in the Botanic garden at Calcutta, 
 published in 1814, a species is inserted by the name of Datura 
 Tatula, said to be a native of the Cape of Good Hope. TMs is 
 probably different from the Datura Tatula of Linn^us. 
 
 JS^ote C. 
 
 <' The Jamestown weed, (which resembles the thorny apples of 
 Peru, and I take it to be the plant so called,) is supposed to be 
 one of the greatest coolers in the world. This being an early 
 plant, was gathered very young for a boiled sallad, by some of 
 the soldiers sent thither to quell the rebellion of Bacon ; and 
 some of them ate plentifully of it, the effect of which was a very 
 
NOTES. 193 
 
 pleasant comedy, for they turned natural fools upon it for several 
 days. One would blow up a feather in the air, another would 
 dart straws at it with much fury ; another stark naked was sit- 
 ting up in a corner like a monkey, grinning, and making mows 
 at them ; a fourth would fondly kiss and paw his companions, 
 and sneer in their faces with a countenance more antic, than any 
 in a Dutch droll. In this frantic condition they were confined, 
 lest, in their folly, they should destroy themselves. A thousand 
 simple tricks tliey played, and after eleven days returned to 
 themselves again, not remembering any thing that had passed." 
 
 Beverly's History of Virginia, p. 121. 
 
 JTote B, 
 
 «f De Cuechyliztomatl, sen Tomatl sonalis. 
 
 Genus est Solani Tonchiclii forma et viribus simile, sed 
 foliis paulisper undulatts, et fructu acinoso racematimque depen- 
 dente, kc" Hernandexif ii. 12. 
 
 J^ote E, 
 
 <' I am heartily glad to hear more instances of the success of 
 the Poke weed in the cure of cancer. You will deserve highly of 
 mankind for the communication. But I find in Boston they are 
 at a loss to know the right plant, some asserting it is what they 
 call Mechoacan, others other things. In one of their late pa- 
 pers it is publicly requested that a perfect decription may be giv- 
 en of the plant, its places of growth, &c. I have mislaid the pa- 
 per, or would send it to you. I thought you had described it 
 pretty fully." Letter from Dr. Franklin to Br. Colden, 
 
 " I apprehend that our poke- weed is what botanists term 
 Phytolacca. This plant bears berries as large as peas. The 
 skin is black, but it contains a crimson juice. It is this juice 
 thickened by evaporation in the sun which was employed. It 
 caused great pain, bui some persons were said to have been 
 cured, I am not quite certain of the facts ^ all that I know is 
 
194^ NOTES. 
 
 that Dr. Colden had a good opinion of the remedy." Letter 
 from Dr. Franklin to M. Dubourg. 
 
 Xote F. 
 
 Liiinseus, in his Flora Laponica, tells us that the roots of 
 Calla palustris, although acrid and caustic in the highest degree, 
 fignis Jirme instaVfJ are made into a kind of bread in high esti- 
 mation, called Missebroed. This is performed by drying and 
 grinding the roots, afterwards boiling and macerating them un- 
 til they ai'e deprived of acrimony, when they are baked like other 
 farinaceous substances into bread. 
 
 The recent juice of the Jatropha manihot, or Cassava tree of 
 the West Indies, is highly poisonous. The deleterious princi- 
 ple however resides in a volatile portion, which is dissipated by 
 heat. The remaining substance of the root is used by the in- 
 habitants for bread, as a material for a kind of soup, and as the 
 basis of a fermented liquor. 
 
 JS^ote G. 
 
 The following is Kgempfer's description taken from his Amoe- 
 iiitates Exoticse, p. 791. His accompanying figure resembles the 
 American Rhus vernix, except, that the end of the branch and 
 bud are larger in proportion than with us. 
 
 « 8it%f vel. SitzdsjUf i. e. SitXi planta, vulgo Urus seu Uiiis no 
 Jii, Arbor vernicifera legitima, folio pinnato Juglandis, fructu 
 racemoso ciceris facie. 
 
 " Arbor paucis ramis brachiata, salicis ad altitudinem luxuri- 
 ose exsurgit. Cortice donatur incano, ex verruculis scabro, facile 
 abscedente ; ligno saligneo fragillimo ,• medulla copiosa, ligno 
 adnata i Surculis longis crassis in extreraitate inordinate foliosis. 
 Folium est impaiiter pennatum, spithamale vel longius, Juglandis 
 folio semulum, costa tereti, leviter lanuginosa ; quara a semipal- 
 mari nuditate stipant lobi sive folia simplicia, pediculo perbrevi 
 nixa, tenuia, plana, ovata, trium vel quatuor unciarum longitu- 
 
NOTES. 195 
 
 dinis, basi insequaliter rotunda, mucrone brevi angusto, margine 
 integro, suprema facie obscure viridi, Isevi, et ex nervis lacunosa, 
 dorso incano et molliter lanuginoso. Nervus mediiis in mucro- 
 nem terminans subinde miiltos a latere demittit nervos minores, 
 eitra marginem deficientes. Sapor folio sylvestris inest, cum 
 sensibili calore ; humor afFrictus extemplo chartam ferrugineo 
 colore imbuit. In surculis quibusdam ex foliorum axillis sin- 
 guli surgunt Racemi laxe ramosi, palmares, tenues, qui, petiolis 
 in calyculos rotundos desinentibus, Fhsculos continent pumilos, 
 et citra Coriandri seminis magnitudinem radiantes, in luteum 
 lierbaceos, pentapetalos, petalis carnosis noniiihil oblongis et 
 repandis ,- staminibus ad petalorum interstitia singulis, apicatis, 
 brevissimis, stylo perbrevi tricipite, floris turbini insidente. 
 Ordorem spirant dulcera, Aurantio llori affinem et pergratum. 
 JFrudus flosculura excipit gibbosus, utcumque in rhomboidis figu- 
 ram compressus, bifidus, facie ac magnitudine ciceris, mem- 
 branula tenui raicante vestitus, per maturitatem durissimus et 
 obsoleti coloris. 
 
 ^* Cortex arboris cultro crenatus lacteum fundit lentorem, 
 liumore crystallino (ex aliis diictibus stillante) permixtum, qui 
 ad aeris coiitactum nigrescit. Eimdem surculi divulsi, foliorum 
 pediculi, et nervi produnt, nuUius gustabilis qualitatis partici- 
 pem, nisi califacientis sine acredine. Venenatos tamen spiritus 
 hsec arbor exhalare dicitin% vehementes adeo, ut pueris circa 
 eandem conimorautibus exanthemata in corpore pariant : qualia 
 etiam lignum tractantes alii (non omnes) experiuntur. Collectio 
 Urusj, sive Vernicis, ut instituatur, caudices prsecipue triennes, 
 paucis crenis vulnerandfs sunt, ex quibus stillans liquor subinde 
 excipitur, iterata in reccnte loco sectione, donee exsucci marces- 
 eant. Emulsi atquc omni succo orbati, illico amputandi sunt ; 
 sic nova e radice provenit soboles, quse, triennis facta, coUectioni 
 denuo subjicitur/' ^ * * 
 
 <' Vernix nativavix prseparatione indiget, Japonica per dupli- 
 catam chartam siibtilissimam, telee aranearum pene similem, et 
 
196 NOTES. 
 
 earn in rem singulariter constructara docta ey^et^tjTt torqueii 
 solet, ut a particulis heterogeneis et crassioribus mundetur; 
 mundatse pauxillum admiscetur (centissima fere pars) olei Toi 
 dicti ex finictu arboris Mri, Sic vasibus ligneis iudita per Japo* 
 niam venalis traiisvehitur." 
 
 J\*ote H. 
 
 The following account of the death of Socrates is translated 
 from the Phcedon of Plato. 
 
 And Crito hearing this gave the sign to the boy who stood 
 near. And the boy departing after some time returned bringing 
 with him the man, who was to administer the poison, who 
 brought it ready bruised in a cup. And Socrates beholding the 
 man, said, *< Good friend, come hither, you are experienced in 
 these affairs, — What is to be done ?" ** Nothing," replied the 
 man, " only when you have drank the poison, you are to walk 
 about until a heaviness takes place in your legs. Then lie down. 
 This is all you have to do." At the same time he presented him 
 the cup. Socrates received it from him with great calmness, 
 without fear or change of countenance, and regarding the man 
 with his usual stern aspect, he asked, " What say you of this 
 potion ? Is it lawful to sprinkle any portion of it on the earth 
 as a libation, or not I" " We only bruise," said the man, " as 
 much as is barely sufficient for the purpose." " I understand 
 you," said Socrates, « but it is certainly lawful and proper to 
 pray the gods that my departure from hence may be prosperous 
 and happy, which I indeed beseech them to grant." So saying, 
 he carried the cup to his mouth and drank it with great prompt- 
 ness and facility. 
 
 Thus far most of us had been able to refrain from weeping. 
 But when we saw that he was drinking and actually had drunk 
 the poison, we could no longer restrain our tears. And from me 
 they broke forth with such violence, that I covered my face and 
 deplored my wretchedness. I did not weep for his fate, so much. 
 
NOTES. 197 
 
 as for the loss of a friend and benefactor, which I was about to 
 sustain. But Crito unable to restrain his tears was compelled 
 to rise. And Apollodorus, who had been incessantly weeping, 
 now broke forth into loud lamentations, which infected all who 
 were present except Socrates. But, he observing us, exclaimed, 
 <« What is it you do, my excellent friends ? I have sent away the 
 women that they might not betray such weakness. I have heard 
 that it is our duty to die cheerfully and with expressions of joy 
 and praise. Be silent therefore, and let your fortitude be seen." 
 At this address we blushed and suppressed our tears. But So- 
 crates, after walking about, now told us that his legs were begin- 
 ning to grow heavy, and immediately laid down, for so he had 
 been ordered. At the same time the man who had given Mm 
 the poison, examined his feet and legs, touching them at inter- 
 vals. At length he pressed violently upon his foot, and asked 
 if he felt it. To which Socrates replied, that he did not. 
 The man then pressed his legs and so on, shewing us that he 
 was becoming cold and stiff. And Socrates feeling of himself 
 assured us, that when the effects had ascended to his heart he 
 should then be gone. And now tlie middle of his body growing 
 cold, he threw aside his clothes and spoke for the last time, 
 ** Crito, we owe the sacrifice of a cock to JEsculapius. Dis- 
 charge this and neglect it not." " It shall be done, said Crito ; 
 have you any thing else to say ?" He made no reply, but a mo- 
 ment after moved, and his eyes became fixed. And Crito seeing 
 this, closed his eyelids and mouth. 
 
CONTENTS OF THE FIRST VOLUME, 
 
 Datura stramonium, 
 Eupatorium perfoliatumf 
 Phytolacca decandra, 
 Arum tnphyllum, 
 Coptis trifolia. 
 Arbutus uva ursi, 
 Sanguinaria canadensis. 
 Geranium maculatum, 
 Triosteum perfoliatum, 
 Itliux vernix, 
 Conium maculatum, 
 Cicuta macidata, 
 Kalmia latifolia, 
 Spigelia marilandicaf 
 Asarum canadense, 
 Iris 'versicolor, 
 Hyoscyamus niger, 
 Solanum dulcamara, 
 Lobelia injlata, 
 Solidago odora, 
 M)tes, 
 
 Thorn apple, page 17 
 
 Thorough wort, 33 
 
 Poke, 39 
 
 Dragon root, 52 
 
 Gold thread, 60 
 
 Bearberry, 66 
 
 Blood root, 75 
 
 Craneshill, 84 
 
 Fever root, 90 
 
 Poison sumach, 96 
 
 Hemlock, 113 
 
 American hemlock, 125 
 
 Mountain laurel, 133 
 
 Carolina pinkroot, 142 
 
 Wild Ginger, 149 
 
 Blue flag, 155 
 
 Henbane, 161 
 
 Bitter sweet, 169 
 
 Indian tobacco, 177 
 Sweet scented Golden rod, 187 
 
 192 
 
ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 Upon presenting to the public the portion of this work, which 
 completes one half of his labours, the author of the American 
 Medical Botany feels himself bound to offer some report of the 
 progress and prospects of his undertaking. 
 
 The plan of this work was formed and announced at a time 
 when such a subject was wholly novel, and when coloured bo- 
 tanical engravings, from the difficulty and expense of their exe- 
 cution, were almost unknown in this country. It was endeav- 
 oured that the plan should be such as in some degree to insure, 
 what both authors and their friends should desire, extensive cir- 
 culation and permanent utility. An edition of a thousand copies 
 was printed, and that the work miglit be generally accessible, 
 the price was fixed at a lower rate, in proportion to the number 
 of plates, than works of the kind have ever been placed at in this 
 country; a rate which the probable sale of the whole edition 
 could alone justify. As permanent utility was esteemed of more 
 importance than ephemeral success, the work has not been hur- 
 ried in any stage of its execution, even though some temporary 
 advantages might have been obtained by its earlier appearance. 
 The author has not willingly adopted the opinions of others in bot- 
 any or medicine without examination, and has thought no delay in- 
 jurious which might lead to the establishment of truth or the de- 
 tection of error. He has been desirous, in adding the results of 
 his own experience, that the book should have, in some degree at 
 
VI ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 least, the character of an original work, rather than of a compi- 
 lation ; at the same time that it should present a fair view of 
 what is known on the subjects of which it treats. The figures of 
 the plants have, in every instance, been made from original 
 drawings, which were executed by himself, with the exception of 
 two or three presented by his friends. Tlie style of engraving 
 is wholly new in this country, and is one which has been suc- 
 cessfully attempted only by the first artists in France. 
 
 It gives him pleasure to state, that the reception of the work, 
 in all parts of the United States, has exceeded his anticipations, 
 that the subscription is already more than sufficient to defray 
 the expense of publishing, and that its regular increase renders 
 it probable that the whole edition will be taken up at an early 
 period. 
 
 He avails himself of this occasion to return his acknowledg- 
 ments to those correspondents who have obligingly assisted him 
 by the communication of specimens for the work, and of the re- 
 sults of their own researches and experience. Particularly he 
 would express this remembrance to Zaccheus Coixins Esq. of 
 Philadelphia, a gentleman whose active kindness has repeatedly 
 supplied his botanical necessities ; and whose extensive erudition 
 has enabled him to afford counsel, which would not have been 
 sought at a less respectable source. To Professor Ives of New 
 Haven, a zealous and inteUigent cultivator of the American Ma- 
 teria Medica, he would express the obligations derived from his 
 communications and correspondence. It would be unjust to for- 
 get that many medicinal plants of the Southern States, with ob- 
 servations on their properties, were furnished expressly for this 
 work, by the late Dr. James Macbkide of Charleston, S. C. a 
 
 4% 
 
ADVERTISEMENT. VIL 
 
 physician and a botanist, whose premature dcatli has terminated a 
 career of honourable usefulness and of active, liberal and efficient 
 prosecution of science. His friends cannot remember without re- 
 gret a man, who had the rare quality of being learned without 
 ostentation, who was ambitious of usefulness more than of fame, 
 
 and who sought rather to be valuable to others than just to him- 
 self. 
 
 As the materials for the rest of the American Medical Bota- 
 ny are now principally collected, and most of the drawings 
 finished ; the remaining numbers will be issued with as much 
 promptness and regularity, as is consistent with their faithful 
 execution. 
 
PREFACE 
 
 TO THE SECOND VOLUME. 
 
 As frequent use is made in these pages of 
 observations drawn from the auxiliary sciences, as 
 affording some light on the medicinal properties of 
 plants, it may be proper to examine how far tes- 
 timony of this kind is entitled to receive credit in 
 our inquiries and examinations. 
 
 There can be no question, that the actual op- 
 eration of medicines upon the human system, 
 gathered from positive experience, is, in the pres- 
 ent state of our knowledge, the only criterion by 
 which we can pronounce, with universal certainty, 
 on their properties. There are nevertheless 
 many things to be learnt from chemical analysis, 
 sensible qualities, and botanical affinity, which 
 may afford us, in some instances certainty, and in 
 most others presumptive evidence of the medicinal 
 characters of vegetables. The correspondence 
 in these respects is frequently so striking, that 
 we can hardly resist the belief, that an entire liar= 
 mony of properties exists, which, if we are unable 
 
X/ PREFACE. 
 
 fiiJlv to comprehend, it is rather o'^inpf to the im- 
 perfectioQ of science, than to the iiTeGTularitv of 
 nature. 
 
 A few illustrations of this point, taken from 
 general facts already ascertained, will place the 
 suhject in a clearer li|;cht. 
 
 The chemical suhstances. known hr the names 
 of Gum iMuciis and Fascula. are constantly emol- 
 lient, demulcent and nutritious. They manifest 
 these qualities even when extracted from acrid 
 and poisonous vegetables, as in Arum; Calla. and 
 Jatropha. 
 
 Sugar is nutritious and demulcent. T^Tien 
 subjected to a spontaneous chemical chanjje by 
 the vinous fermentation, it is universally a stroma 
 diffusible stimulus. 
 
 Fi-xed oils are emollient and laxative. Also 
 nutritious. 
 
 Volatile oils on the contrary are acrid, stimu- 
 latinjj. heatin^s:. and antispasmodic. 
 
 Tannin and the Gallic acid are uniformly an- 
 tiseptic andpowerfullv a^trinj;(ent. 
 
 The ^icetous. Citric. Tartaric and similar veg- 
 etable acids are refrigerant and antiseptic. 
 
 Bitter Extractive substances are u-ually tonic. 
 
 JResins. which [ire bitter and acrid, are coni- 
 raonlv cathartic. 
 
PREFACE. XI 
 
 Emetine, as separated by Pelletier and Magen- 
 die, is powerfully emetic. 
 
 Morphiiim, obtained by Sertnrner, is a vei-y 
 strong narcotic. 
 
 The foregoing are some of the examples, which 
 the present state of Chemistry allows us to ob- 
 serve of affinity between chemical and medicinal 
 characters. With a few exceptions they will be 
 found to be strictly true. Yet the analysis of vege- 
 tables is at present but imperfectly known, and an 
 extended investigation is continually bringing new 
 principles to light. We can hardly expect that the 
 business of generalization should be attempted 
 with complete success, until tlie constituent facts 
 are better understood. From what we already 
 know, however, it is not chimerical to predict, 
 that if the chemistry of vegetables were as per- 
 fectly known in all its parts, as in those which we 
 have detailed ; their medicinal properties might 
 be inferred, with at least as great certainty, as 
 that which now attends most inferences in the 
 conjectural science of medicine. 
 
 In regard to the botanical affinities of plants, 
 as affording evidence of their medicinal powers, 
 much has been said and written. Petiver, Hoff- 
 man, Linnaeus, Hasselqnist, and recently the 
 learned Professor Decandolle have bestowed much 
 
XU PREFACE. 
 
 investigation on tliis subject. It is regarded as a 
 desideratum by all, and as the consummation of 
 botanical science by many, tliat plants should be 
 so arranged, as that then* assemblages should 
 agree, not only in external forms, but in internal 
 qualities and operative powers. Certain general 
 agreements of this kind evidently prevail through- 
 out nature ; yet they are so varied, and subject to 
 so many exceptions, that it is difficult to establish 
 them by general scientific descriptions, and when 
 they are rendered too minute they seem to lose 
 much of their importance. It is perhaps as easy 
 to know the properties of plants from theu* exter- 
 nal habit, as to understand the characters of man- 
 kind from their physiognomy. Accurate obser- 
 vers know more than they can communicate the 
 means of knowing to others, yet the most accu- 
 rate are liable to be mistaken. Many vegetables 
 of the closest affinity and resemblance, even spe- 
 cies of the same genus, differ wholly from each 
 other in their effects. Witness the species of 
 Cucumis, Convolvulus, and Solanum, some of 
 which are salutary, and others highly deleteri- 
 ous. Kevertheless there are many general truths, 
 or at least general probabilities, by which every 
 one would be influenced, and w hich have so much 
 importance, that they will never be forgotten. 
 
PREFACE. Xlli 
 
 No botanist, even if in danger of starving in a 
 wilderness, would indulge liis hunger on a root or 
 fruit taken from an unknown plant of the nat- 
 ural order Luridce, of the Multisiliquce, or the um- 
 belliferous aquatics. On the contrary, he would 
 not feel a moment's hesitation in regard to any of 
 the Gramina, the fruit of the Pomacew, and several 
 other natural families of plants, which are known 
 to be uniformly innocent in their effects. 
 
 The sensible properties of plants afford another 
 clue to their influence on the human system. It 
 is true, that observations derived from this source 
 will not serve us in forming very minute distinc- 
 tions. They are, however, almost always adequate 
 in vegetable productions, to enable us to distin- 
 guish what is innocent and salubrious, from what 
 is noxious and virulent. The brute creation de- 
 pend wholly upon the powers of sense in selecting 
 their food, and this reliance does not often betray 
 them. In regard to mankind it almost uniformly 
 happens, that what is sweet, delicious, or aromat- 
 ic, proves nutritive or salutary ; while on the oth- 
 er hand, vegetable poisons are nauseous, acrid, 
 and disgusting. It has been observed, that it 
 would have been a sort of treachery in nature to 
 have made it otherwise. Considering the univer- 
 sal dissemination of poisonous plants, and the 
 
XVI PREFACE. 
 
 number of them, which frequent the vicinity of 
 human habitations, this arrangement of Provi- 
 dence, by making ungrateful what is dangerous, 
 has furnished ahnost the only safeguard from 
 harm, to the inexperienced and unwary. 
 
 These remarks have been offered on account 
 of an impression which many persons entertain, 
 that collateral evidences of the characters of plants 
 are worthless and undeserving of attention. Even 
 if the community were composed exclusively of 
 physicians, such an opinion could not be wholly 
 correct. Every one may be called on to form 
 hasty decisions on subjects where his experience 
 is deficient, and where an acquaintance with aux- 
 iliary facts might lead him to a correct issue. It 
 is not onl}^ curious and instructive to perceive the 
 harmonies of nature, but to every inquirer among 
 her works it must be practically useful. It can 
 no where be more useful, or more deserving of 
 study, than in a new country, where the face of 
 nature presents an ungathered harvest, and where 
 every clue to useful discovery derives importance 
 from its influence and tendency. 
 
ih' 
 
 4 3 & 7 
 
 d 9 
 
 20 J2 -?5 
 
AMERICAN 
 
 MEDICAL BOTANY, 
 
 PYROLA UMBELLATA. 
 
 Winter Green. 
 
 PLATE XXL 
 
 JL his most beautiful of the species of Pjrola 
 is extensively diffused througliout the northern 
 hemisphere. It inhabits all latitudes in the Unit- 
 ed States, and extends across the continent to the 
 shores of the Pacific ocean. It is also found in the 
 forests of Siberia, and in several of the northern 
 and temperate countries of Europe. It only 
 grows in shady woods, where it is protected from 
 the sun, and nourished by the peculiar soil formed 
 from the decomposition of leaves and wood. The 
 most common appellations, by which it is known 
 in the United States, are Winter green and Pipsis^ 
 sewa. It floAvers in June and July, being some- 
 what later than most of the other species of its 
 family. 
 
16 . PYROLA UMBELLATA. 
 
 By Pursliari(l some other American botanists, 
 this species and one other have been separated 
 from the genus Pyrola, to constitute a new family 
 by the name of Chimaphila. As the grounds of 
 distinction, however, between them are not suffi- 
 cient to render it certain tliat this genus will ul- 
 timately stand ; I have preferred retaining the 
 orisrinal Linnsean name.* 
 
 * It is somewhat remarkable, that the genus Chimaphila was first 
 established upon characters, which hardly exist in either of the plants 
 it is intended to comprehend. The pxnncipal grounds of distinction, 
 suggested by Michaux and adopted by Pursh, seem to consist in a 
 sessile stigma, and anthers opening by a siibbivalve foramen. Now 
 the stigma is not sessile, since that term implies the absence of a style, 
 and the anthers do not open by any subbivalve foramen, differing 
 from the rest, but by two tubular poi-es, precisely as in the other spe- 
 cies of Pyrola. Mr. Nuttall, in his interesting work on North Ameri- 
 can genera, has amended the character of Chimaphila, by bringing 
 into view the calyx, filaments, &c. while he has added to the char- 
 acteristics of Pyrola, a ilowny connexion of the valves of the cap- 
 sule. In the calyx, however, the two species of Chimaphila are at 
 different extremes from each other ; one of them having a five leaved 
 calyx, the leaves overlaying each other at base ; the other having a 
 five toothed calyx only, while the remaining species of Pyrola, being 
 five parted, come between them. I have not been able to find the 
 tomentum spoken of by Mr. Nuttall, in all the spiked species, and par- 
 ticularly in P. secunda. 
 
 If the genus Pyrola were ever to be dismembered, it should be 
 into at least four distinct genera, as follows j 
 1. Style declined, stigma anmdate. 
 P. rotundifolia, P. asarifolia, &,c. 
 
WINTEU GREEN. i7 
 
 The genus Pyrola belongs to the class Be- 
 candria, and order Monogynia, It ranks among 
 
 2. Style straight, stio^ma peltate. 
 P. secunda, P. uniflora, &c, 
 S. Style incrassatedj calyx five leaved^ 
 
 P. maculata. 
 4, Style immersed^ calyx five toothed, 
 P. umbellata. 
 
 If we go farther and take into view the direction and form of the 
 filaments, and the other parts of flower and fruit, with their various 
 combinations ; we shall have nearly as many genera as there are now 
 species, since it is well known that many of the most important spe- 
 cific distinctions in this genus are taken from the fructification. 
 
 On these accounts there can be no doubt that the genus Pyrola 
 had better remain entire. In habit it is certainly one of the most 
 natural genera we possess. All the species are humble evergreens, 
 growing in woods, with creeping roots, ascending sterns, and nodding 
 flowers. All of them have their leaves in irregular whorls, flower with 
 reversed anthers, and retain their style until the fruit is ripe. In. 
 inflorescence, one is solitary, two somewhat corymbed, and the rest 
 spiked. The leaves of P. secunda, umbellata and maculata are usu- 
 ally in two or more whorls ; those of most others in one radical 
 whorl OF aggregate. One species is said to be leafless. 
 
 In the dissections accompanying the figure of P. umbellata I have 
 endeavoured to represent the evident gradation of the style from the 
 species in which it is longest, to that in which it is shortest. In the 
 same plate are added some of the varieties of the calyx and stamens. 
 
 The following remark of Sir James Edward Smith, the learned 
 president of the Linnsean society, is from Rees' Cyclopedia, Jirt. 
 Pyrola. " We can by no means assent to the establishment of that 
 able writer's (Fursh's) Genus Chimaphila, there being surely no di- 
 versity of habrt to support it, nor any character but a diSereuce in 
 the length of the style ; which the other species of Pyrola shew to af- 
 ford admirable specific, but no generic distinctions. 
 
18 PYROLA UMBELLATA. 
 
 tlie Bicornes of Linnaeus and the Ericw of Jus- 
 sieu. 
 
 The generic character is as follows. Calyx 
 mostly jive parted ; petals jive ; anthers inverted^ 
 opening hy two tubular pores ; capsule jive celled, 
 jive valved. 
 
 The species umhellata has its leaves wedge 
 shaped and toothed, flowers somewhat umhelled, 
 calyocfive toothed^ and style immersed. 
 
 Its more minute description is as follows : 
 
 Root woodj, creepin,^, sending up stems at 
 various distances. The stems are ascending, 
 somewhat angular, and marked with the scars of 
 the former leaves The leaves grow in irregular 
 whorls, of which there are from one to four. They 
 are evergreen, coriaceous, on very short petioles, 
 wedge shaped, subacute, serrate, smooth, shin- 
 ing, the lower surface somewhat paler. The 
 flowers grow in a small corymb, on nodding pe- 
 duncles, which are furnished with linear bractes 
 about their middle. Calyx of five roundish suba- 
 cute teeth or segments, much shorter than the 
 corolla. Petals five, roundish, concave, spreading, 
 cream coloured, with a tinge of purple at base. 
 Stamens ten. Filaments sigmoid, the lower half 
 fleshy, triangular, dilated, and slightly pubescent 
 at the edges ; the upper half filiform. Anthers 
 
WINTER GREEN. 19 
 
 two celled, each cell opening by a short, round, 
 tubular orifice, which points downward in the bud, 
 but upward in the flower. Pollen white. Germ 
 roundish, depressed, furrowed, obscurely five lobed, 
 with a funnel shaped cavity at top. Style straight, 
 half as long as the germ, inversely conical, insert- 
 ed in the cavity of the germ, and concealed by the 
 stigma. Stigma large peltate, convex, moist, ob- 
 scurely five rayed. Capsules erect, depressed, five 
 celled, five valved, the partitions from the middle 
 of the valves. Seeds linear, chaffy, very numerous 
 and minute. 
 
 This plant, like the other species of Pyrola, is 
 very difficult to cultivate, when transplanted from 
 its native soil; although it thrives luxuriantly in 
 the shade and rich mould of the forests where it 
 originates. 
 
 The leaves of P3 rola umbellata, when chewed, 
 communicate to the mouth a taste which partakes 
 of both sweet and bitter. The stalk and roots 
 possess the same taste, combined with a moderate 
 degree of pungency. A Dissertation " De Pyrola 
 umbellata," published at Gottingen, by Dr. Wolf, 
 in I8I75 contains an elaborate chemical examina- 
 tion of this plant. As the result of his trials, this 
 author concludes, that 100 parts of Pyrola umbel- 
 lata contain about 18 of a bitter extractive princi- 
 
30 PYROIiA TJMBELLATA 
 
 pie, 2.04 of resin, 1.38 of tannin, a slight portion 
 of gum, and the rest of fibrina and earthy salts. 
 The resin is adhesive, brownish, readily soluble in 
 etlier apd alkalis, burning with flame and a res- 
 inous odour, and leaving a white cinder. 
 
 From my own trials the quantity of resin in 
 this plant appears to be very small. A saturated 
 tincture of a deep brown colour does not give a 
 precipitate on the first addition of water. It is 
 only after some time standing, and partly perhaps 
 from the evaporation of the alcohol, that a turbid- 
 ness begins to appear in the solution. It is prob. 
 able that spirit is a better menstruum than watept, 
 for the soluble portions of this plant, although the 
 latter is capable of extracting the greater part of 
 its virtue. 
 
 The Pyrola umhellata, though scarcely known 
 as a medicine until within a few years past, has 
 at the present day acquired a reputation of con- 
 siderable extent in the treatment of various dis- 
 eases. Its popular celebrity seems to have origi- 
 nated in its application to the treatment of fever 
 and rheumatism ; but the attention of physicians 
 has been chiefly drawn towards its use in other 
 complaints. The instances in which this plant 
 has received favourable testimonies on medical 
 authority, of its successful use, both in America 
 
WINTER GREEN. SjL 
 
 and Europe, are principally the following. 1. As 
 a palliative in strangury and nephritis. 2. As a 
 diuretic in dropsy. 3. As an external stimulant, 
 susceptible of useful application to various cases. 
 In the first of these cases, the Pyrola is entitled 
 to attention and confidence. Some practitioners 
 in this country have employed it with advantage 
 in the same cases, in which the Arbutus Uva ursi 
 is recommended*. Dr. Wolf, the German writer 
 lately cited, has reported a number of cases of 
 ischuria and dysuria, arising from various causes, 
 in which the Pyrola, given in infusion, produced 
 the most evident relief, and took precedence of a 
 variety of remedies which had been tried. His 
 method of administering it was to give a table 
 spoonful of a strong infusion, with a little syrup, 
 every hour. In all the cases he has detailed, 
 small as the dose was, it gave relief in a very short 
 time. In one case its effect was so distinctly 
 marked, that the disease returned whenever the 
 medicine was omitted and was removed on re- 
 suming its use. A tonic operation attended its 
 other effects, so that the appetite was improved 
 and digestion promoted during the period of its 
 employment. 
 
 * See Dr. Mitchell's Inaugural Dissertation. Philadelphia, 1803. 
 
S« PYROLA UMBELLATA. 
 
 The diuretic properties of the Pyrola umbel- 
 lata, seem to have been fully illustrated by Dr. 
 W. Somerville in a paper on this vegetable, pub- 
 lished in the 5th volume of the London Medico- 
 Chirurgical transactions. The facts presented 
 by this physician afford satisfactory evidence of 
 the power of this medicine to promote the renal 
 excretion, and to afford relief to patients afflicted 
 with dropsy in its various forms. The most dis- 
 tinguished case presented by him, is that of Sir 
 James Craig, the British governour in Canada, 
 who was labouring under a general dropsy, which 
 in its progress had assumed the forms of hydro- 
 thorax, anasarca and ascites, and which was com- 
 bined with different organic diseases, especially of 
 the liver. After having tried with little or tempora- 
 ry success, almost every variety of diuretic and ca- 
 thartic medicines, and submitted twice to the 
 operation of tapping, tlie patient had recourse to 
 a strong infusion of the Pyrola, in the quantity of a 
 pint every twenty four hours. Although the case 
 was altogether an unpromising one, yet the plant 
 gave relief, not only in the first, but in the sub- 
 sequent instances of its use. It increased the 
 urinal discharge, and at the same time produced 
 an augmentation of strength and an invigorated 
 appetite. 
 
WINTER GREEN. 3S 
 
 Several other cases of dropsy are detailed in 
 Dr. Somerville's paper, in which the Pyrola was 
 administered by himself and by other practioners 
 with decided advantage. Dr. Satterly and Dr. 
 Marcet are among those who have added their 
 observations to the testimonies in its favour. Dr. 
 Somerville found his patients to remark, that an 
 agreeable sensation was perceived in the stomach 
 soon after taking the Pyrola, and that this was 
 followed in some instances by an extraordinary 
 increase of appetite. He considers it as having 
 in this respect a great advantage over other diu- 
 retics, none of which are agreeable to the stomach, 
 and most of them very offensive to it. He fur- 
 ther states, that no circumstance had occurred 
 within his own experience or information, to for- 
 bid its use in any form, or to limit the dose. 
 
 Dr. Wolf has given one very satisfactory case 
 of the utility of our plant in ascites. He also 
 found it to alleviate altogether the ardor urinse 
 attendant on gonorrhea. 
 
 Such are the most important facts which to my 
 knowledge have been published respecting the 
 internal use of the Pyrola umbellata. I have 
 administered this plant on various occasions, and 
 attended to its mode of operation. In a number 
 of dropsical cases, when first given, it made a dis- 
 
^4? PYROLA U3IBELLA1'A. 
 
 tinct and evident impression on the disease, com- 
 municating an increased activity to the absorbents, 
 followed by a great augmentation of the excretion 
 from the kidnies. The benefit, however, with me 
 has been in most instances temporary, and it was 
 found better to omit the medicine for a time and 
 to resume it afresh, than to continue it until the 
 system had become insensible to its stimulus. 
 After suspending it for a week or two, the same 
 distinct operation took place on returning to its 
 use, as had been manifested in the first instance. 
 It proved in almost every instance, a very accep- 
 table medicine to the patient, and was preferred 
 both for its sensible qualities and its effects on the 
 stomach, to other diuretics and alteratives which 
 had been prescribed. 
 
 The Pyrola has been considerably employed 
 as an external application in tumours and ulcers 
 of various descriptions. It first acquired notice 
 in consequence of some newspaper attestations of 
 its efiicacy in the cure of cancer. Those persons 
 who know how seldom genuine cancers occur in 
 comparison with reputed ones, will be more ready 
 to allow it the character of curing ulcerous, than 
 really cancerous affections. There are undoubt- 
 edly many ulcers, and those frequently of a malig- 
 nant kind, which are benefitted by antiseptic 
 
WINTER GREEN. S5 
 
 stimulants ; ^nd to such the Pyrola may he useful. 
 But of its efficacy in real cancer we require 
 more evidence than is at present possessed, before 
 we ascribe to it the power of controlling so for- 
 midable a malady. 
 
 Dr. Miller of Franklin informs me that he has 
 used a decoction and cataplasm of this plant with 
 apparent success in various chronic indurated 
 swellings. It acts as a topical stimulant, and 
 when long continued, not unfrequently vesicates. 
 Tumours of long standing have in several in- 
 stances disappeared under its use. 
 
 BOTANICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 Pyrola umbellata, Liif. Sp. jyl. Gmeliiv, Flora Sihirica. 
 Roth, Flora Germanica. — Bot. Mag, t. 778. — Michatjx, Flora 
 Americana, i. 251. — Pyrola fruticans, Parkinsox, Theatrum, 
 509. — J. Bauhin, Mst. plant, iii. 536. — Chiinaphila corymbosa, 
 PuESH, i, 300. — ^NuTTALi, Genera, i. 274. 
 
 ' MEDICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 Mitchell, Inaugural Dissertation. — Somerville, Medico- 
 Chirurgical Transactions, vol. v. — ^Wolf, Dissertatio Inauguralis. 
 
 PLATE XXI. 
 
 Fig. 1. Ptjrola unibellata. 
 Fig. 2. Pistil of Ptjrola rotundifolia. 
 Fig. S. Pistil of Pyrola secunda. 
 Fig. 4. Pistil of Pyrola uniflora. 
 Fig. 5, Pistil of Pijrola maculata. 
 4 
 
gg PYROLA UMBELLATA. 
 
 Fig. 6. Pistil of Pyrola umMlata. ^ 
 
 Fig. 7. Section of the same, shewing the length of the style. 
 
 Fig. 8. Five toothed calyx of P. umhellata. 
 
 Fig. 9. Five leaved calyx and incrassated pedicel of P. ma- 
 
 calata* 
 Fig. 10. Anther magnified ofF. secunda. 
 Fig. It. Ditto of F. rotundifolia. 
 Fig. 12. Stamen magnified of P. umUllata. 
 Ft"-. 13. Ditto ofF. maculata. 
 
XZi^ 
 
 X J / i 
 
 u 
 
 7 3 ~ -» 
 
 )(^C/f /J^/'i'^^'J- 
 
GAULTHERIA PROCUMBENS. 
 
 Partridge Berry, 
 
 PLATE xxrr. 
 
 HERE is no soil so inhospitable, that it does 
 not afford the means of sustenance and growth to 
 some vegetable tenant. The most arid and penu- 
 rious spots of earth not only give support to a 
 variety of plants, but tliej are even selected by 
 certain species, which make them their perma- 
 nent residence, and thrive better in the midst of 
 poverty and drought than they could in the most 
 fertile and luxuriant situations. The Craultheria 
 procumbeos is one of those hardy and abstemious 
 plants, wbich are better satisfied with the clear air 
 of the mountaios, than with a deep or mellow 
 soil. It is found growing in large beds under the 
 shade of shrubs and trees upon elevated tracts of 
 ground, or upon the sand and gravel of the driest 
 forests. Its bright evergreen leaves seem adapt- 
 
^8 GAULTHERIA PROCUMBENS. 
 
 ed for ready absorption and slow perspiration, so 
 that it derives from the dews and rain, what the 
 earth fails to supply it. 
 
 The Gaultheria procumbens is remarkable for 
 the different periods of producing its flowers and 
 fruit. It is found in blossom not only in the 
 early part of spring, but in the last weeks of sum- 
 mer, and the fruit is found ripe at corresponding 
 periods. Whether this appearance is the product 
 of different shoots, or whether the same stems 
 blossom twice in a year, I am unable to say. I 
 have, however, met with beds of the Gaultheria 
 in full flower in August and September, quite as 
 frequently as in May. I have also seen the fruit 
 in the market at various periods of the summer, 
 fall, and spring. 
 
 The plant takes its vulgar names from the 
 fruit, and is denominated in different parts of the 
 United States, Fartridge berry, Chequer herry, 
 Booc herry, ^c. Its domestic use has also given 
 it the name of Mountain tea. 
 
 The genus Gaultheria is beautifully singular 
 and distinct in its character, derived from the 
 form of its fruit. The caly.v is jive cleft, caly- 
 ciilated, or Mhracteate at base. Corolla ovate. 
 Capsule five celled, invested with the baccated 
 calyx. 
 
PARTRIDGE BERRY. 29 
 
 The species prociimheiis has a prostrate stem, 
 with ascending branches. Leaves in a terminal 
 tuft, obovate with a few ciliate serratures. Flowers 
 accillary. 
 
 Class Decandria, order Monogynia, IVatural 
 orders Bicornes Linn. Ericm Jiiss. 
 
 The stem, or as it might be called root of this 
 plant is horizontal, woody, often a quarter of an 
 inch in thickness. The branches are ascending, 
 but a few inches high, round and somewhat 
 downy. Leaves scattered, near the extremities of 
 the branches, evergreen, coriaceous, shining, oval 
 or obovate, acute at both ends, re volute at the 
 edge, and furnished with a few small serratures, 
 each terminating in a bristle. Flowers axillary, 
 drooping, on round downy stalks. Outer calyx of 
 two concave, heart shaped leafets, which may with 
 perhaps more propriety be called bractes. Inner 
 calyx monophyllous, white, cleft into five roundish 
 subacute segments. Corolla white, urceolate, five 
 angled, contracted at the mouth, the border divid- 
 ed into five short, reflexed segments, Filaments 
 white, hairy, bent in a semicircular manner to ac- 
 commoelate themselves to the cavity between the 
 corolla and germ. Anthers oblong, orange col- 
 oured, ending in two double horns, bursting out- 
 wardly, for their w hole length above the filaments, 
 
30 GAULTHERIA PROCUMBENS. 
 
 and not opening by pores as in Pyroia. Pollen 
 white. Germ roundish, depressed, five angled, 
 resting on a reddish, ten toothed, glandular ring. 
 Style erect, straight. Stigma simple, moist. The 
 fruit is a small, five celled capsule, invested with 
 the calyx, which becomes large, round, and fleshy, 
 having the appearance of a bright scarlet berry. 
 If the aroma or odour and also the taste of 
 plants were susceptible of description in as defi- 
 nite language as their proportions and form, the 
 sensible qualities of many vegetables might afford 
 new grounds for generalizing and combining them 
 together. The aromatic flavour of the Partridge 
 berry, which cannot easily be mistaken by those 
 who have once tasted it, may be recognised in a 
 variety of other plants, wliose botanical habits are 
 very dissimilar. It exists very exactly in some 
 of the other species of the same genus, particu- 
 larly in Gaultlieria hisphlula ; also in Spirwa nlma- 
 ria and the root of Spivcea lohata. It is particu- 
 larly distinct in the bark of the Sweet birch, 
 Betula lenta, one of our most useful and interest- 
 ini? trees. 
 
 This taste and odour reside in a volatile oil, 
 which is easily separated by distillation. The 
 essential oil of Gaultlieria, which is often kept in 
 our druggists' shops, is of a pale or greenish white 
 
PARTRIDGE BERRY. 31 
 
 colour and perfectly transparent. It is one of the 
 heaviest of the volatile oils, and sinks rapidly in 
 water if a sufficient quantity be added to overcome 
 the repulsion of two heterogeneous fluids. Its 
 taste is aromatic, sweet and highly pungent. 
 
 The oil appears to contain the chief medicinal 
 virtue of the plant, since I know of no case in 
 which the leaves, deprived of their aroma, have 
 been employed for any purpose. They are nev- 
 ertheless considerably astringent, and exhibit the 
 usual evidences of this property when combined 
 with preparations of iron. 
 
 The berries, or berry-like calyces, have a pulpy 
 but rather dry consistence, and a strong flavour 
 of the plant. They are esteemed hj some persons, 
 but are hardly palatable enough to be considered 
 esculent. In the colder seasons they afford food 
 to the partridges and some other wild animals. 
 
 The leaves, the essence and the oil of this 
 plant are kept for use in the apothecaries' shops. 
 An infusion of the leaves has been used to com- 
 municate an agreeable flavour to tea, also as a 
 substitute for that article by people in the country. 
 Some physicians have prescribed it medicinally as 
 an emmenagogue, with success in cases attended 
 with debility. The oil, though somewliat less pun- 
 gent than those of peppermint and origanum, is 
 
3S GAULTHERIA PROCUMBENS. 
 
 employed for the same purposes. It shares with 
 them the property of diminishing the sensibility 
 of the nerve exposed by a carious tooth, when, 
 repeatedly applied. The essence, consisting of 
 the volatile oil dissolved in alcohol or proof spirit, 
 is antispasmodic and diaphoretic, and may be 
 applied in all cases where warm or cordial stimu- 
 lants are indicated. A tincture, formed by digest- 
 ing the leaves in spirit, possesses the astringency 
 as well as warmth of the plant, and has been use- 
 fully employed in diarrhsea. 
 
 A respectable physician of Boston informs me, 
 that he has in various instances found the infu- 
 sion of this plant very eifectual in promoting the 
 mammary secretion, when deficient ; and even in 
 restoring that important function after it had been 
 for some time suspended. Whether the medi- 
 cine has any specific influence of this sort, inde- 
 pendent of the general state of the patient's health, 
 I am not prepared to say. 
 
 BOTANICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 Gaultlieria procumbens, Liivn. Sp. pi. — Michaux, Flow i. p. 
 249. — PuESH, i. 283. — NuTTAiL, Gen. i. 263. — Andrews, BoU 
 Repository, t. 116. — Wiild. Arh. 123. — 'Vitis Id^ea Canadensis 
 Pyrolse folio, Tournefort, Inst, 608. — Anonyma pedunculis 
 arcuatis, Coidejt, Mveh, 98. 
 
PARTRIDGE BERRY. S3 
 
 MEDICAL REFERENCES. 
 Kalm^ Amxnitates ^cademicce, iii. 14, — Bart. Coll. i. 19. 
 
 PLATE XXIT. 
 
 Fig. 1. Gaultheria prociimbens. 
 
 Fig. 2. The bractes or^ outer calyx. 
 
 Fig. 3. The true calyx. 
 
 Fig. 4. Stamen of the natural si'ze. 
 
 Fig. 5. Anther magnifiedf the dark places shewing the mode of 
 
 opening. 
 Fig. 6. Calyx and pistil. 
 Fig. 7. Fruit. 
 
 Fig. 8. Longitudinal section of the fruit. 
 Fig. 9. Transverse section of the capsule. 
 
PODOPHYLLUM PELTATUM. 
 
 May Apple. 
 
 PLATE XXIU, 
 
 _L HE Podophyllimi peltatum or May apple, 
 otherwise called Mandrake in this country, in- 
 habits low shady situations from New England to 
 Georgia. On the Atlantic coast I have never 
 met with it farther north than Boston, yet in the 
 interior of the country it has a more extensive 
 range. From its large creeping roots, it has a 
 great tendency to multiply, and is always found 
 in beds of greater or less extent. Its flowering 
 time is from March to May. 
 
 This plant is one of the ^anunculacem of Jus- 
 sieu and Rhoeades of Linn&eus ; and is in the first 
 order of the Class Polyandria. 
 
 Its generic character consists in a calycc of 
 three leaves ; from six to nine petals ; and a one-cel- 
 led herry crowned with the stigma. Only one spe- 
 
an.. 
 
 3 i:y^^oJihe^Mi^/7?y Ae/lu^ 
 
MAY APPLE. 35 
 
 cies is at present known which strictly belongs to 
 the genus. 
 
 The May apple has a jointed running root 
 about half the size of the finger, by which it 
 spreads extensively in rich grounds, where it gets 
 introduced. The stem is about a foot in height, and 
 invested at its base by the sheaths which covefed 
 it when in bud. It is smooth, round and erect, 
 dividing at top into two round petioles from three 
 to six inches long. Each petiole supports a large 
 peltate, palmate leaf, smooth above, slightly pu- 
 bescent beneath, deeply divided into about seven 
 lobes, which are wedge shaped, two parted and 
 toothed at the extremity. On the inside the leaf is 
 cleft almost to the petiole. In barren stems which 
 support but one leaf this does not take place, and 
 the leaf is very perfectly peltate. In the fork of 
 the stem is a solitary flower on a round nodding 
 peduncle one or two inches long. Calyx of three 
 oval, obtuse, concave leaves, cohering in the bud 
 by their scarious margins, and breaking off at 
 base when the flower expands. Petals from six 
 to nine. Linnseus makes them nine in his gene- 
 ric character, but in this climate I have found 
 them more frequently seven even in luxuriant 
 specimens growing in very rich soil. They are 
 obovate, obtuse, concave, smooth, white with slight 
 
36 PODOPHYLLUM PELTATUM. 
 
 transparent veins. Stamens shorter than the pe- 
 tals, curving upwards ; the anthers oblong, twice 
 as long as their filaments. Germ oval, compress- 
 ed, obscurely angTilar. Stigma nearly sessile, 
 convex, its surface rendered irregular by nume- 
 rous convolutions and folds. The flower is suc- 
 ceeded by a large ovate yellowish fruit, which is 
 one celled, many seeded and crowned with the 
 stigma. Its early period of ripening has given 
 rise to the trivial name of May apple. 
 
 The dried root of the May apple is fragile and 
 easily reduced to powder. It has a peculiar and 
 rather unpleasant taste, but without much acri- 
 mony. When chcAved for some time, it manifests 
 a strong bitter taste. Both the tincture and de- 
 coction are intensely bitter. When water is add- 
 ed to the alcoholic solution the mixture becomes 
 very gradually turbid, and at length opaque. On 
 the other hand, alcohol disturbs both the infusion 
 and decoction, especially the latter, in which it 
 produces, after some time, a pearly whiteness. 
 The trials I have made with it lead me to con- 
 clude that it contains a resin, a bitter extractive 
 matter, fsecula and a slight proportion of a gummy 
 substance. 
 
 The medicinal properties of the Podophyllum 
 peltatum are those of a sure and active cathartic^ 
 
MAY APPLE. 37 
 
 in which character it deseryes a high rank among 
 our indigenous productions. We have hardly any 
 native plant which answers better the common 
 purposes of jalap, aloes and rhubarb, and which 
 is more safe and mild in its operation. The root 
 is the part to be employed, and should be given 
 in substance in fine powder. I have commonly 
 found twenty grains to operate with efficacy, and 
 not to be attended with pain or inconvenience. 
 In irritable stomachs it sometimes occasions nau- 
 sea and vomiting, but this effect, as is well known, 
 may ensue from any cathartic medicine. The late 
 Professor Barton informs us, that although the 
 root is an excellent cathartic, the leaves are poi- 
 sonous, and the whole plant has something of a 
 narcotic quality. Its botanical affinities would 
 justify, a priori, a suspicion of this kind. In the 
 various trials which I have made with it, I have 
 not observed any such property in the root. The 
 leaves I have never subjected to experiment for 
 any purpose. 
 
 The fruit is acid and agreeable to the taste of 
 many persons. It is sometimes called wild lem- 
 ons, and is eaten with impunity. 
 
 The root is said by some physicians to be a 
 medicine particularly suited to dropsy. It has 
 
38 PODOPHYLLUM PELTATUM. 
 
 also had tlie character in the Southern States of 
 curing intermittent fever. 
 
 A physician in Albany informs me that the 
 Shakers at Lebanon, N. Y. prepare an extract of 
 the Podophyllum, which is much esteemed by 
 medical practitioners as a mild cathartic. These 
 people are well known to our druggists by the 
 care and neatness with which they prepare a va- 
 riety of medicines from native and naturalized 
 pharmaceutical plants. 
 
 For medicinal use the root of the May apple 
 is advised to be dug in the cold season, when veg- 
 etation is not active, viz. in the autumn and win- 
 ter. At this part of the year the secretions of 
 perennial plants are concentrated in their roots, 
 and the same weight of their substance is less di- 
 luted with the watery or ascending sap, than it 
 is at any other period. This constitutes a rea- 
 son why the roots of all perennial plants should, 
 as far as practicable, be taken up during the cold 
 season. But from what I have been able to ob- 
 serve, the difference of their virtue in different 
 months is much less than is commonly supposed. 
 I never knew a medicinal plant whose efficacy 
 was destroyed in consequence of being taken up 
 even at midsummer, although it may be in some 
 degree lessened. It is probable that those roots 
 
MAY APPLE. 39 
 
 which constitute staple articles of commerce, as 
 ipecac, gentian, rhuharb, §c. are gathered indis- 
 criminately for exportation at all seasons when 
 they are to be found. Being collected by savages 
 or by ignorant persons, who seek for them in theu* 
 native wilds, and who are not much interested in 
 their future efficacy ; it is probable they would be 
 gathered in greatest quantities when their vege- 
 tation was most luxuriant, because at this time 
 their shoots and tops would be most conspicuous. 
 We know this to be the case with our Ginseng, 
 Spigelia, Snake root, ^c. which form considerable 
 articles of exportation, and which it would be dif- 
 ficult to find at any other than the vegetating sea- 
 son.* 
 
 * Annual plants should be gathered at the time when their veg- 
 etation is most vigorous, which is generally from the time they begin 
 to flower, until the leaves begin to change. The leaves contain the 
 greatest activity in most annual plants employed for medicine, while 
 the root is a comparatively insignificant part, being small, woody and 
 fibrous. Thus the leaves of Stramonium and Tobacco are much more 
 active than the root. 
 
 Biennial plants should, in most instances, be gathered in the 
 second season of their growth, and about the time of flowering. The 
 leaves of these plants also contain their medicinal activity, as in Hem- 
 lock and Henbane. The roots are medicinal, but usually in a less 
 degree. In some aromatic biennials, the seeds are the most impor- 
 tant part of the plant. 
 
40 P0D0PI1YLLU31 PELTATUM. 
 
 BOTA]>fICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 Podophyllum peltatum, Lrtof. Sp. pi. — Michaux, Flora^ i. 
 309. — PuRSH, ii. 366. — Lamarck, Illust. gen, — Trew, Ehret. U 
 29. — Anapodophyllum Canadense, Catesbt, Car, i. 24. — Aco- 
 iiitifolius humilis &c. Mentz. ^itg-. t. 11, 
 
 MEDICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 ScHoePF, 86, — B. S. Bartoij, edit, of CuUenf 375.— «Thach- 
 
 ER, Disp, 307. — Chapman, Mat, Med, 209. 
 
 PLATE XXIIL 
 
 Fig. 1. Podophyllum peltatum. 
 
 Fig. 2. Calyx, 
 
 Fig. 3. Stamens, 
 
 Fig. 4. Germ and stigma. 
 
 Fig. 5. Fruit. 
 
rtJou\'. 
 
ICTODES FOETIDUS. 
 
 Skunk Cabbage. 
 
 PLJiTE xxir. 
 
 A HIS is one of our most noticeable plants, 
 both from the frequency of its occurrence and the 
 peculiarity of its sensible properties. Scarcely a 
 swamp or meadow is found in the middle and 
 northern parts of the United States in which this 
 vegetable may not be discovered at a distance, es- 
 pecially in the spring season, by its large tufts of 
 rank, crowded leaves. Its singular flowers are 
 among the first which break from the ground, 
 after the rigours of winter, appearing in different 
 latitudes, from February to April. The vegeta- 
 tion is rapid, so that in most instances the fruit is 
 ripe and the leaves wholly decayed before the end 
 of August. From this precocity of the plant to- 
 gether with the depth to which the roots pene- 
 trate the earth, it seems calculated to bear the 
 6 
 
4S ICTODES F(ETIDUS. 
 
 cold of high latitudes. I have found the flowers a 
 second time formed, and shooting from the ground 
 in Kovember. The strong and unpleasant odour 
 which every part of the plant emits on being 
 broken, and which is precisely similar to that of 
 the Viverra mephitis ; has given it by an almost 
 common consent, in every part of the country, the 
 appellations of Skunk weed and Skunk cabbage. 
 The structure of this singular vegetable has 
 caused it successively to be assigned to the gene- 
 ra »irum, Bi^acontium and Pothos, with none of 
 which it fully agrees. Of the Aroidese, to which 
 it is related, it approaches most nearly in its flow- 
 er to Fothos ; while its fruit has more affinity to 
 Orontium. The Eev. Dr. Cutler many years ago, 
 in the Transactions of the American Academy, 
 pointed out the distinctive characters of this plant, 
 and pronounced it a new genus, ^o name, how- 
 ever, substantiated by a character, has to my knowl- 
 edge been given it, in any botanical work, except 
 the name of Symplocarpns, a term lately adopted 
 by some American botanists on the alleged au- 
 thority of Mr. Salisbury. As this name by its ety- 
 mology implies a resemblance of the fruit to 
 Symplocos, a genus with which the plant has not 
 the least affinity ; it appears to me inadmissible. 
 Although I am averse to multiply the confusion 
 
SKUNK CABBAGE. 43 
 
 of synonyms, with which our science is tdready 
 too much burdened, yet in the present instance 
 an appropriate name, which should not be at va- 
 riance with the character of the plant, appeared to 
 be required. With the advice of the venerahle Dr. 
 Cutler, I have translated, as nearly as possible, 
 the common English appellation for the plant. 
 The name Ictodes from inTig, viverra, and c^oj, 
 oleo ; is sufficiently expressive of the property 
 from which its common name is derived. 
 
 The genus Ictodes has for its character a 
 hooded spathe, spadicc covered with perfect fiow- 
 ers, calyoc with four segments^ petals no7ie, style 
 pyramidal, seeds immersed i\i the spadivc. Only 
 the present plant can be assigned to this genus. 
 It belongs to Tetrcmdria, monogynia ; and is found 
 among the Piperitce of Linn^us and Jiroidem of 
 Jussieu. The root is large and abrupt, with nu- 
 merous, crowded, fleshy fibres. The spathe which 
 emerges from the ground some time before the 
 leaves, is ovate, swelling, various in width, cucul- 
 late, spotted and sometimes nearly covered with 
 dull brownish purple, the top acuminate and in- 
 curved, the edges infolded, auriculate at base, and 
 at length coalescing. Within this is the oval 
 spadix, on a short peduncle, covered with perfect 
 tetrandrous flowers, and of the same colour with 
 
44 ICTODES FCETIDUS, , 
 
 the spathe. Calyx leaves four, fleshy, wedge 
 shaped, truncate, the top and edges inflected, the 
 whole crowded together so as to form a compact 
 covering for the spadix. Stamens four, opposite 
 the calyx leaves, with subulate filaments equal in 
 length to the calyx, and oblong four celled anthers. 
 Style four sided, tapering ; stigma minute, pubes- 
 cent ; germ roundish, concealed within the spadix. 
 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 
 round, fleshy seed, as large as a pea, white, tinged 
 with green and purple, invested with a separate 
 membranous coat, and with a prominent corcu- 
 lum situated in a depression at top. 
 
 The leaves which spring up some time after 
 the flowers are numerous, large and crowded, ob- 
 long heart shaped, acute, smooth, with numerous 
 fleshy veins of a paler colour. They spring from 
 the root on long petioles, hollowed in front, and 
 furnished with large oblong sheaths. They con- 
 tinae to increase in size for a month or two after 
 the flowering period is past. 
 
SKUNK CABBAGE. 45 
 
 Mr. Niittall, who has observed the germination 
 of this plant, informs us that the seed does not ap- 
 pear to possesss any other cotyledon, than a 
 sheathing stipule, similar to that which is after- 
 wards produced in the plant. The principle hulk 
 of the seed is formed by what he considers a, 
 yitellus, having the embryo exactly resembling 
 the future plant, situated in an umbilical depres- 
 sion at its top. The attachment of this body to 
 the embryo is at first by a minute funicuhis, 
 which enlarges and becomes more distinct dur- 
 ing the progress of germination ; but the most sin- 
 gular circumstance respecting it is the length of 
 time for which it continues attached to the grow- 
 ing plant, apparently inert at the base of the can- 
 dex for twelve or even eighteen months. 
 
 The offensiA'^e and powerful odour which char- 
 acterizes this plant is not peculiar to it. The 
 fruit of some of the North American currants, and 
 particularly Mihes rigens of Michaux, a species 
 often met with on the high mountains of the East- 
 ern States ; emits when bruised a scent exactly 
 similar to this vegetable. 
 
 The odour of the Ictodes resides in a princi- 
 ple which is extremely volatile. I have not been 
 able to separate it by distillation from any part of 
 the plant, the decoction and the distilled water be- 
 
46 ICTODES lOETIDUS. 
 
 ing in my experiments but slightly impregnated 
 with its sensible character. Alcohol, digested on 
 the plant, retains its odour for a time, but this is 
 soon dissipated by exposure to the air. 
 
 An acrid principle exists in the root even 
 when perfectly dry, producing an effect like that 
 of the Arum and Ranunculi. When chewed in 
 the mouth, the root is slow in manifesting its pe- 
 culiar taste ; but after some moments, a pricking 
 sensation is felt, which soon amounts to a disa- 
 greeable smarting, and continues for some time. 
 This acrimony is readily dissipated by heat. 
 The decoction retains none of it. The distilled 
 water is impregnated with it, if the process be 
 carefully conducted, but loses it on standing a 
 short time. 
 
 A resinous substance is dislodged from the 
 alcoholic solution of the root by the addition of 
 water, the solution becoming moderately turbid. 
 A gummy or mucous principle is also present, 
 and fills the mouth with mucilage when the root 
 is chewed. It is separated from the decoction in 
 sinsil Jiocculi when alcohol is added. 
 
 The spadix consists of a fleshy cellular sub- 
 stance, which shrinks very much in drying. The 
 seeds when dry are reduced to half their former 
 size, and in this state they have a tough waxy 
 
SKUNK CABBAGE. 47 
 
 eonsistence and an animal odour. They contain 
 fixed oil in abundance, which is easily forced out 
 from them by expression. Their principal bulk 
 appears to be albumen, and when reduced to 
 powder they are less easily soluble in boiling 
 water, than grains which are less oleaginous. 
 They burn with an oily smoke, leaving behind a 
 large coal. 
 
 The sensible properties of the Ictodes having 
 a strong ajQinity with those of assafcetida and tJie 
 other foetid gums, practitioners have been led to 
 expect from it a similar antispasmodic power. 
 Experience has justified these expectations in a 
 variety of disorders of the spasmodic and nervous 
 kind. The Eev. Dr. Cutler of Massachusetts 
 was the first who recommended its use in asth- 
 matic cases. In his account of indigenous Amer- 
 ican vegetables, he tells us that the roots dried 
 and powdered form an excellent remedy in asthma, 
 and often give relief when other means prove in- 
 effectual. It may be given, he says, with safety 
 to children as well as adults ; to the former in dos- 
 es of four, ^\e or six grains, and to the latter in 
 doses of twenty grains and upward. In a private 
 letter he states, that he made use of it in his own 
 case of asthma for several years, and generally 
 found relief. Jn the winter he used the dried 
 
48 ICTODES FffiTIIiUS. 
 
 root in powder, and in summer, the fresh grated 
 root. It continued to afford more reUef than any 
 other remedy, so long as the paroxysms remain- 
 ed under the influence of any medicine. Since 
 the recommendation of Dr. Cutler, many country 
 physicians have employed the root in asthma, 
 catarrh and chronic coughs, with evident benefit. 
 A number of cases have fallen under my own ob- 
 servation of the catarrh affections of old people, in 
 which a syrup prepared from the root in substance 
 has alleviated and removed the complaint. Dr. 
 Thacher informs us on various authorities, that 
 the powdered root has given immediate relief in 
 hysteric paroxysm, that it has afiected the cure of 
 dropsy, and that rheumatic patients have found 
 great benefit from its use. Its strong and pene- 
 trating acrimony would lead us, a priori, to ex- 
 pect advantage from it in these complaints. Even 
 in the more formidable disease of epilepsy, it has 
 appeared to do good. 
 
 Some caution, however, is requisite in its man- 
 agement, as serious inconvenience may ensue 
 from an over dose. In delicate stomachs I have 
 found it frequently to occasion vomiting even in 
 a small quantity. In several cases of gastrodynia 
 where it was given with a view to its antispas- 
 modic effect, it was ejected from the stomach 
 
SKUNK CABBAGE. 49 
 
 more speedily than common cathartic medicines. 
 I have known it in a dose of thirty grains to bring 
 on not only vomiting, but headach, vertigo and 
 temporary blindness. Other practitioners have 
 given it in larger quantities witliout any evil of 
 this kind, but I think such an exemption must 
 be attributed to the age and deteriorated quality 
 of the root. Its active ingredients being more or 
 less volatile, it must necessarily be impaired in 
 strength by long keeping, especially in a pulveriz- 
 ed state. 
 
 To insure a tolerably uniform activity of this 
 medicine, the root should be kept in dried slices 
 and not reduced to powder until it is wanted for 
 use. It may then be taken in pills or mixed with 
 syrup in doses of from ten to twenty grains. 
 These may in most instances be repeated three 
 times a day. 
 
 BOTANICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 Arum Americanum, Catesbt, Car. ii. i. 71. — Dracontium 
 foetidum, Lin. Stjst. pi. — Willd. ii. 288. — Pothos fosfida, Mi- 
 CHAUx, Amer, ii. 186. — Pursh, ii. 398. — Bot. Mag. 836. — Sym- 
 plocarpus foetida, Nuttaxi, genera, i. 105. 
 
 MEDICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 Cutler, Trans, Amer, dead, 1. 407". Thachee, Dispensa- 
 tory , 150. 
 
50 ICTODES FCETIDUS. 
 
 PLATE XXIV. 
 
 Fig. 1. Modes fodidus injlower, the spathe inclosing the €padix» 
 
 Fig. 2. The spadix taken out of the spathe* 
 
 Fig. 3. The leaves, stalkSf <^c. 
 
 Fig. 4. The spadix in fruity one quarter heing cut away to show 
 
 the seeds. 
 Fig. 5. djlower magnified. 
 Fig. 6. The same opened. 
 Fig. 7. Petal and Stamen* 
 Fig. 8. Style, 
 Fig. 9, 10. Seeds. 
 
.r J' 1 
 
 /i^a^ff^f 
 
STATICE CAROLINIANA. 
 
 Marsh Mosemary, 
 
 FLATE XXV. 
 
 HE class of vegetables, denominated mari- 
 
 time, or sea shore plants, are constituted to occupy 
 extensive tracts of ground, which, from their im- 
 pregnation with sea salt, are incapable of sustain- 
 ing the life and growth of other species. The mu- 
 riate of soda, if poured at the roots of the most vigo- 
 rous plants belonging to a fresh soil, will often de- 
 stroy them in a short time. Few forest trees of the 
 temperate zones can grow in marshes where their 
 roots are wholly exposed to the access of salt wa- 
 ter. Yet such is the wise arrangement of nature, 
 that this substance, which proves a poison to most 
 vegetables, is converted into the food and necessa- 
 ry stimulus of the rest. Maritime plants flourish 
 alike in places visited by the tide, and those ira- 
 
S2 STATICE CAROLINIANA. 
 
 pregiiated by the salt springs of the mterior. The 
 degree in which they require the presence of the 
 mineral is various, some growing upon the beach, 
 where the earth is saturated with salt, and others 
 at the extreme edge of marshes, where the impreg- 
 nation is much less powerful. With a few excep- 
 tions, they cannot long be cultivated in fresh earth, 
 but soon decay when removed from their native 
 marshes. 
 
 Maritime plants derive a peculiar character 
 from their place of growth, which distinguishes 
 them even when dry from other vegetables. The 
 salt with which they are impregnated crystallizes 
 on their surface in dry weather ; and deliquesces 
 so as to render them damp and supple, when the 
 atmosphere is moist. These plants are trouble- 
 some in an herbarium from the facility with which 
 they contract moisture from the atmosphere, and 
 communicate it to the adjacent papers. The hay 
 cut upon salt marshes often becomes extremely 
 damp, and would be entirely spoiled, were it not 
 for the antiseptic and preservative quality of the 
 salt. The barilla of commerce is obtained by the 
 combustion of maritime vegetables. 
 
 Many of these plants are thick and fleshy in their 
 mode of growth, and differ remarkably in this res- 
 pect from their co-species on dry ground. This is 
 
MARSH ROSEMARY. 53 
 
 particularly seen in Arenaria, Gerardia, Chenopo- 
 dium, ^c. 
 
 The vegetable wliich is the subject of this ar- 
 ticle is exclusively a maritime plant. It is one of 
 the few ornamental species in our salt marshes, 
 and is very conspicuous for its purple tops ap- 
 pearing among the grass in all the summer 
 months. It varies from a few inches, to a foot and 
 more in heischt. 
 
 This species has generally been considered a 
 variety of the Statice limonmm, which is a com- 
 mon plant in the salt marshes of Europe. In- 
 deed, several of the maritime species of this genus 
 approach each other so closely in their characters, 
 that they have been considered the same by able 
 botanists. The American plant, to which the 
 name of Caroliniana was given by Walter in his 
 Flora of Carolina, is distinguished from the Eu- 
 
 ropean principally by its smaller ilowers and plain 
 or flat leaves. From the Statice Gmelini, an 
 Asiatic species, it differs appp^rently still less in its 
 general form. 
 
 The genus Statice belongs to the class Pentan- 
 dria and order Pentagynia, Its natural orders 
 are Aggregatce of Linnseus and Pliimhagmes of 
 Jussieu. It is characterized by a cahjx mono- 
 phyllous^ plaited and scarioiis. Petals jive with 
 
54 STATICE CAROLINIANA. 
 
 the Stamens inserted in their claws. Seed one^ in- 
 vested with the calyx. The species Caroliniana 
 has its scape round and panicled ; its leaves oho- 
 vate-lanceolate, smooth, obtuse, mucronated, and 
 flat on the margin. 
 
 The root of this plant is perennial, large, 
 fleshy, fusiform or branched. Several tufts of 
 leaves and scapes are often produced from the 
 same root. The leaves are narrow-obovate^ sup- 
 ported by long petioles, smooth, veinless, obtuse, 
 mucronated by the prolongation of the middle 
 rib, level and flat on the margin, in which respect 
 they difier from S. limonium, which is undulated. 
 Scape round, smooth, furnished with a few scales, 
 flexuous at top, giving off numerous branches, 
 which end in spikes of flowers ; the whole form- 
 ing a large panicle. The base of each branch and 
 flower is supported by an ovate, mucronated scale. 
 The flowers are alternate, erect, consequently one 
 sided in the horizontal branches ; mostly in pairs, 
 but appearing single from one expanding before 
 the other. They grow on a short, forked pedun- 
 cle, which is concealed by several sheathing scales, 
 part of which are common to the two, and part 
 peculiar to the upper one. The calyx is funnel 
 shaped, five angled, the angles ciliate and end- 
 ing in long acute teeth with sometimes, not al- 
 
MARSH ROSEMARY, 55 
 
 ways, minute intermediate teeth. Tlie upper 
 part of the calyx is scarious and of a pink colour. 
 Petals spatulate, obtuse, longer than the calyx, 
 pale bluish purple. Stamens inserted in the 
 claws of the petals, anthers heart shaped. Germ 
 small, obovate, with five ascending styles shorter 
 than the stamens. Seed oblong, invested with 
 the persistent calyx. 
 
 The root, which is the officinal part of the 
 Marsh Rosemary, is one of the most intense and 
 powerful astringents in the vegetable materia 
 medica. It communicates to the mouth an high- 
 ly austere and astringent taste, combined with a 
 good deal of bitterness. Few vegetable substan- 
 ces, when chemically treated, give more distinct 
 and copious evidence of the presence of both 
 tannin and gallic acid. The sulphate of iron 
 strikes a fine purple colour with the solution, 
 and soon deposits a precipitate, which, on expo- 
 sure to the air, becomes of an inky blackness. 
 Gelatin also throws down a copious, whitish, in- 
 soluble precipitate. Resin hardly exists in this 
 root, nor any thing else exclusively soluble in al- 
 cohol. The impregnation with sea salt is readily 
 made obvious. 
 
 Dr. Mott, Professor of Surgery in the Univer- 
 sity of New York, has published an interesting 
 
06 STATICE CAROLINIANA. 
 
 and valuable iavestigation of the properties of this 
 plant in 1806. He informs ns that the astringen- 
 cy, indicated by the sulphate of iron, was greater 
 in the tincture than in the infusion under experi- 
 ments precisely similar ; from which it may be 
 inferred, that alcohol is a better solvent for this 
 root than water. He also found the cold infusion 
 more powerful than the hot, a circumstance prob- 
 ably to be accounted for by the escape of a part 
 of the gallic acid by evaporation. The astringen- 
 cy w as found fully equal to that of galls, and ink 
 made from equal quantities of the two, similarly 
 treated, was equal in blackness. 
 
 The Statice Caroliniana possesses much me- 
 dicinal reputation as an astringent, and large 
 quantities of it are annually consumed in different 
 parts of the United States. In Boston it is reg- 
 ularly kept by the druggists, and larger quantities 
 are sold, than of almost any indigenous article. 
 It is principally sought for as a topical remedy 
 in aphtha and other ulcerative affections of the 
 mouth and fauces. From its astringent and an- 
 tiseptic quality, it is peculiarly suited to correct 
 the state of these local maladies, and its applica- 
 tion is commonly followed with success. It is 
 much better suited to such complaints than the 
 Coptis trifolia or gold thread, with which it is 
 
MARSH ROSEMARY, 57 
 
 frequently combined, and which is only a tonic 
 bitter without astringency. 
 
 Dr. Baylies of Dighton, Mass. emplojed a de- 
 coction of the root, both internally and externally, 
 in the Cynanche maligna, a disease which has at 
 times been epidemic and very destructive in dif- 
 ferent parts of our country. It proved very suc- 
 cessful not only under his own observation, but 
 under that of other physicians in this dangerous 
 complaint. 
 
 Dr. Mott informs us, that in the chronic stages 
 of dysentery, after tlie inflammatory diathesis, 
 great tenesmus, 6)'c. are removed ; a strong de- 
 coction of the root has restored patients to health, 
 after various tonics and astringents had been used 
 to no effect. « 
 
 BOTANICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 Statice Caroliniana, "Walter, Flora Car. 1 1 8. — Pursh, i. 
 212. — NuTTALL, i. 206. — Statice limoniiim, Muhlenberg, Cat- 
 aloguCf 33. — Elliott, Carolina, i. 874. 
 
 MEDICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 Mott, Inaugural Dissertation. — Thacher, Disp, 345. — Bay- 
 lies, Papers of the Mass. Med, Society, vol. i. 
 8 
 
58 STATICE CAROLINIAlifA. 
 
 PLATE XXV. 
 
 Fig. 1, Statice Caroliniana, 
 '% Fig, 2. Jl Jlower magnified. 
 
 Fig. 3. Calyx ditto, 
 
 '"' Fig. 4. A petal and stamen ditto. 
 
 Fig. 5, 6rerni and styles ditto. 
 
MV 
 
 MM^-^ 
 
ASCLEPIAS TUBEROSAe 
 
 Buttevfiy Weed, 
 
 PLATE XXVI, 
 
 F 
 
 Ew genera are more curious and intricate 
 in their structure, than that to which our present 
 article belongs. The plants which constitute the 
 family of Asclepias are so peculiar in their habit, 
 that they are easily recognized even by the inex^ 
 perienced botanist, while their minute structure 
 is so complicated, as to require not a little atten- 
 tion for its perfect development. This fine race 
 of plants are so abundant in the United States, 
 that every month of the summer season presents 
 us a number of beautiful species. By far the 
 most rich and gaudy of these in appearance is the 
 Asclepias tuberosa, known by the vulgar names 
 of Biittevjly weed and Fleurisy rooty and found in 
 dry, sandy soils, pine woods, §c. from Massachu- 
 
60 ASCLEPIAS TURBEROSA, 
 
 setts' to Georgia. It is the Asclepias decumbens 
 of Walter. 
 
 This genus has a Jive parted calyx ; a five parU 
 ed vefieoced corolla ; a nectary of five erect, ciicul- 
 late leaves, each producing an iifiected horn from 
 its cavity ; stamens united, with ten pollen masses 
 hanging by pairs in their cavities. The species 
 tuberosa is hairy, its leaves alternate, oblong-lance- 
 olate ; its branches cymose. 
 
 Class Pentandria, order Bigynia, Natural or- 
 ders Contortas, L. Apocinece, Juss. 
 
 The root of this plant is large, fleshy, branch- 
 ing, and often somewhat fusiform. It is only by 
 comparison with the other species that it can be 
 called tuberous. The stems are numerous, grow- 
 ing in bunches from tlie root. They are erect, 
 ascending or procumbent, round, hairy, green or 
 red. Leaves scattered, the lower ones peduncu- 
 lated, the upper ones sessile. They are narrow, 
 oblong, hairy, obtuse at base, waved on the edge, 
 and in the old plants sometimes re volute. The 
 stem usually divides at top into from two to four 
 branches, whicli give off crowded umbels from 
 their upper side. The involucrum consists of nu- 
 merous, short, subulate leafets. Flowers nume- 
 rous, erect, of a beautifully bright orange colour. 
 Calyx much smaller than the corolla, five parted, 
 
BUTTERFLY WEED. 61 
 
 the segments subulate, reflexed and concealed by 
 the corolla. Corolla five parted, reflexed, the seg- 
 ments oblong. The nectary or stamineal crown 
 is formed of five erect, cucullate leaves or cups, 
 with an oblique mouth, having a small, incurved, 
 acute horn proceeding from the base of the cavity 
 of each and meeting at the centre of the flower. 
 The mass of stamens is a tough, horny, somewhat 
 pyramidal substance, separable into five anthers. 
 Each of these is bordered by membranous, reflect- 
 ed edges contiguous to those of the next, and ter- 
 minated by a membranous, reflected summit. In- 
 ternally they have two cells. The pollen forms 
 ten distinct, yellowish, transparent bodies, of a flat 
 and spatulate form, ending in curved filaments, 
 which unite them by pairs to a minute dark tuber- 
 cle at top. Each pair is suspended in the cells of 
 two adjoining anthers, so that if a needle be in- 
 serted between the membranous edges of two an- 
 thers and forced out at top, it carries with it a pair 
 of the pollen masses. Pistils two, completely con- 
 cealed within the mass of anthers. Germs ovate, 
 with erect styles. The fruit, as in other spe- 
 cies, is an erect lanceolate follicle on a sigmoid pe- 
 duncle. In this it is green, with a reddish tinge 
 and downy. Seeds ovate, flat, margined, connect- 
 ed to the receptacle by long silken hairs. Recep- 
 tacle longitudinal, loose, chaffy. 
 
62 ASCLEPIAS TUBEROSA. 
 
 The down or silk of the seeds, in this and oth- 
 er species, furnishes an admirable mechanism for 
 their dissemination. When the seeds are liberat- 
 ed by the bursting of the follicle which contains 
 them, the silken fibres immediately expand so as 
 to form a sort of globe of branching and highly 
 attenuated rays, with the seed suspended at its cen- 
 tre. In this state they are elevated by the wind 
 to an indefinite height, and carried forward with 
 a voyage like that of a balloon, until some obstacle 
 intercepts their flight, or rain precipitates them to 
 the ground. 
 
 The down of different species of Asclepias is 
 susceptible of application to various useful and or- 
 namental purposes. If the fibre were sufficiently 
 long to admit of its being woven or spun, it would ap- 
 proach more closely to silk in its gloss and texture, 
 than any vegetable product we possess. As it is, 
 it has been substituted for fur, in the manufacture 
 of hats, and for feathers in beds and cushions, 
 "When attached by its ends to any woven fabric, 
 this down forms a beautiful imitation of the finest 
 and softest fur skins, and is applicable to various 
 purposes of dress. The Asclepias Syriaca, from 
 its frequency and the large size of its pods, has 
 been most frequently employed for the foregoing 
 purposes. [JVofe A.] 
 
BUTTERFLY WEED. 63 
 
 The root of the Butterfly weed when dry is 
 brittle and easily reduced to powder. Its taste is 
 moderately bitter, but not otherwise unpleasant. 
 Its most abundant soluble portions are a bitter ex- 
 tractive matter and fsecula, iKTo evidence of as- 
 tringency is afforded on adding solutions of isin- 
 glass or copperas, and hardly any traces of resin 
 on adding w ater to alcohol digested on the root. 
 The decoction afforded a flaky precipitate to alco- 
 hol, when the infusion did not. Boiling water 
 may be considered the proper menstruum for this 
 plant. 
 
 This fine vegetable is eminently intitled to the 
 attention of physicians as an expectorant and dia- 
 phoretic. It produces eff'ects of this kind with 
 great gentleness, and without the heating tenden- 
 cy which accompanies many vegetable sudorifics. 
 It has been long employed by practitioners in the 
 Southern States in pulmonary complaints, particu- 
 larly in catarrh, pneumonia and pleurisy, and has 
 acquired much confidence for the relief of these 
 maladies. It appears to be an expectorant pecu- 
 liarly suited to the advanced stages of pulmonary 
 inflammation, fifter depletion has been carried to 
 the requisite extent. Dr. Parker of Virginia, as 
 cited by Dr. Thacher, having been in the habit of 
 employing this root for twenty five years, cojjsid- 
 
64 ASCLEPIAS TUBEROSA. 
 
 ers.it as possessing a peculiar and almost specific 
 quality of acting upon the organs of respiration, 
 promoting suppressed expectoration, and relieving 
 the breathing of pleuritic patients in the most ad- 
 vanced stage of the disease. 
 
 Dr. Chapman, Professor of medicine in Phil- 
 adelphia, informs us that his experience with this 
 medicine is sufficient to enable him to speak with 
 confidence of its powers. As a diaphoretic he 
 thinks it is distinguished by great certainty and 
 permanency of operation, and has this estimable 
 property, that it produces its efiects without in- 
 creasing much the force of the circulation, raising 
 the temperature of the surface, or creating inqui- 
 etude and restlessness. On these accounts it is 
 well suited to excite perspiration in the forming 
 states of most of the inflammatory diseases of 
 winter, and is not less useful in the same cases at 
 a more advanced period, after the reduction of ac- 
 tion by bleeding, §c. The common notion of its 
 having a peculiar efficacy in pleurisy, he is inclin- 
 ed to think is not without foundation. Certain it 
 is, says he, that it very much relieves the oppres- 
 sion of the chest in recent catarrh, and is unques- 
 tionably an expectorant in the protracted pneu- 
 monies. 
 
BUTTERFLY WEED. 6d 
 
 As far as my own observation with this plant 
 extends, I am persuaded of its usefulness in va- 
 rious complaints. It appears to exert a mild ton- 
 ic effect, as well as a stimulant power on the ex- 
 cretories. Like other vegetable bitters, if given 
 in large quantities, especially in infusion and de- 
 coction, it operates on the alimentary canal, 
 though its efficacy in this respect is not suffi- 
 cient to entitle it to rank among active cathartics. 
 I am satisfied of its utility as an expectorant med- 
 icine, and have seen no inconsiderable benefit 
 arise from its use as a palliative in phthisis pul- 
 monalis. Among other instances may be cited 
 that of a young physician in this town, who died 
 two years since of pulmonary consumption. He 
 made great use of the decoction of this root, and 
 persevered in it a long time from choice, finding 
 that it facilitated expectoration and relieved the 
 dyspnoea and pain in the chest, more than any 
 other medicine. 
 
 The best mode of administering the Asclepias 
 is in decoction or in substance. A teacup full 
 of the strong decoction, or from twenty to thirty 
 grains of the powder, may be given in pulmonary 
 complaints several times in a day. In most cases 
 after the inflammatory diathesis is in some degree 
 subsided, it may be freely repeated as long as it 
 agrees with the stomach and bowels. 
 9 
 
66 ASCLEPIAS TUBEROSA. 
 
 BOTANICAL BEFERENCES. 
 
 Asclepias tuberosa, Lin. Sp. pL — Pursh, i. 183. — Michaux, 
 i. 117. — Elliott, Car. i. 325. — Asclepias decumbens, a variety, 
 Lin. Pursh, &c. — Apocynum Novse Anglise hirsutum radice 
 tuberosa, floribus aurantiacis, Herman, HorL 646. U 647. — DiL- 
 lENius, Elth. S5, t. 30, /. 34. 
 
 MEDICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 B. S. Barton, CoUectionSf 48. — Thacher, Disp, 154.— 
 Chapman, Therapeutics and Mat. Med. i. 346. 
 
 PLATE XXVI. 
 
 Fig. 1, Asclepias tuherosa. 
 
 Fig. 2. Jl fiotver. 
 
 Fig. 3. Jljiower dissected, showing the iviass of anthers, undone 
 
 nectary with. its horn. 
 Fig. 4. Magnified section of the mass of anthers, showing the sit- 
 
 iiation of the pistils itiside, ^c. A pair of pollen masses 
 
 is drawn out at the top. 
 Fig. 5. Fistils magnified, and calyx. 
 
JCXV21 
 
MAGNOLIA GLAUCA, 
 
 Small Magnolia. 
 
 PLATE XXVIL 
 
 \3y the splendid family of trees known by 
 the name of Magnolia, the American continent 
 lias many species. Taken collectively they fur- 
 nish perhaps the most elegant assemblage produc- 
 ed in the forests of the temperate zone. They 
 are distinguished by their rich, smooth foliage, 
 large fragrant flowers, and aromatic bark. Some 
 of them are trees of very exalted stature, taking 
 rank with the highest tenants of the woods. The 
 present species is more humble than the rest in 
 its growth, yet more interesting in some of its oth- 
 er properties. 
 
 The Magnolia glauca has the most extensive 
 range, especially near the sea board, of any of the 
 species of its family. Its most northern bounda- 
 
68 MAGNOLIA GLAUCA. 
 
 ry appears to be in a sheltered swamp in Man- 
 Chester, Cape Ann, about thirty miles north of 
 Boston. It here attains to but small size, and is 
 frequently killed to the ground by severe winters. 
 It is common in the Middle and Southern States, 
 and Michaux informs us, that it is one of the most 
 abundant trees in the morasses of Florida and 
 Lower Louisiana. According to this author how- 
 ever, it is not usually met with far in the interior, 
 or to the west of the mountains. Its common 
 names are various, and change with almost every 
 district. In Massachusetts it has no other name 
 than Magiiolia ; in the Middle States it is called 
 Swamp sassafras and Beaver tree ; while in the 
 Southern States it is denominated Sweet hay and 
 White hay. It is naturally a tenant of deep boggy 
 swamps, and is somewhat irregular in its growth. 
 It acquires more symmetry of form when cultivat- 
 ed in an upland soil, although its transplantation 
 is difficult. To insure it sussessful cultivation in 
 a dry soil, the tree should be raised from the seed. 
 This tree begins to flower in different parts of 
 the United States in May, June and July. The 
 flowers are highly fragrant, and may be perceived 
 by their perfume at a considerable distance. A 
 few of them shut up in a room over night commu- 
 nicate to the air a heavy and almost insupportable 
 odour. 
 
SMALI. MAGNOLIA. 69 
 
 The Magnolias are found in the class Folyan- 
 dria and order Polygynia ; the Coadunatas of Lin- 
 naeus and Magnoliw of Jussieu. 
 
 This genus has a calyx of three leaves, a co- 
 rolla of six petals or more ; capsules two-valved, 
 imbricated, forming a cone ; seeds berried, pendu- 
 lous. 
 
 The present species has oval leaves, glaucous 
 underneath ; and obovate petals, narrowed at base. 
 
 The bark of the young twigs is of a bright, 
 smooth green, with rings at the insertion and scars 
 of the leaves. The leaves are scattered, petioled, 
 regularly elliptical, entire, and glabrous. Their 
 under side, except the midrib, is of a beautifully 
 pale, glaucous colour, by which the tree may be 
 distinguished at a distance. When young, this 
 surface is covered with a silken pubescence. Flow- 
 ers solitary, terminal, on a short, incrassated pe- 
 duncle. Calyx of three spatulate, obtuse, concave 
 segments. Corolla of from eight to fourteen obo- 
 vate, obtuse, concave petals, contracted at tlieii' 
 base. The stamens are very numerous and in- 
 serted in common with the petals on the sides of 
 a conical receptacle. Filaments very short ; an- 
 thers linear, mucronated, two-celled, opening in- 
 wardly. Germs oval, collected into a cone, each 
 one divided by a furrow and tipt with a brownish, 
 
yQ MAGNOLIA GLAUCA. 
 
 linear, recurved style. The fruit is a cone, con- 
 sisting of imbricated cells, which open longitudi- 
 nally for the escape of the seed. The seeds are 
 obovate, scarlet, connected to the cone by a thread, 
 which suspends them some time after they have 
 fallen out. 
 
 The bark of the Magnolia glauca has a bit- 
 ter taste, combined with a strong aromatic pun- 
 gency, which approaches that of Sassafras and of 
 the Acorns calamus. The aroma resides in a vol- 
 atile portion, which is probably an essential oil, or 
 a variety of camphor. It is lost from the bark in 
 the dry state, after it has been kept some time. 
 Water distilled from the green bark has its pecu- 
 liar flavour with an empyreumatic smell. No oil 
 appears on the surface, when the experiment is 
 conducted in the small way. The dried bark af- 
 fords a little resin, and more of a bitter extractive 
 substance. Chalybeate tests produce a very slight 
 darkening of the green colour of the decoction, 
 but gelatin occasions no change. This might be 
 anticipated from the little taste of astringency in 
 the bark. 
 
 As a medicinal article, the Magnolia is to be 
 considered an aromatic tonic, approaching in its 
 charactertoCascarilla, Canella, and articles of their 
 class. Considered simply in regard to its tonic 
 
SMALL MAGNOLIA. ' 71 
 
 powers, it is probably of a secondary order, though 
 from the additional properties which it possesses 
 of a warm stimulant and diaphoretic is found use- 
 ful in certain disorders. Chronic rheumatism is 
 one of the diseases in which it exhibits most effi- 
 cacy. Not only the bark, but tlie seeds and cones 
 which are strongly imbued with the sensible qual- 
 ities of the tree, are employed in tincture with 
 very good success in this disease. 
 
 In intermittent and remittent fevers the Mag- 
 nolia is one of the many tonics which have been 
 resorted to for cure by the inhabitants of the 
 marshy countries where they prevail. Sufficient 
 testimony has been given in favour of the bark of 
 this tree, to warrant a belief that it is fully ade- 
 quate to the removal of fever and ague, when ad- 
 ministered like the Cinchona, in liberal quantities 
 between the paroxysms. In the more continuous 
 forms of fever of the typhoid type, it has also re- 
 ceived tile commendations of physicians. 
 
 Several other species of Magnolia resemble the 
 present very closely in their sensible properties, 
 and as far as experiments have been tried, they 
 are similar in their medicinal effects. In order 
 to secure the whole efficacy residing in these 
 trees, a tincture should be made from the bark or 
 cones while green or very recently dried, before 
 their more volatile parts have escaped. 
 
72 MAGNOLIA CJLAUCA. 
 
 BOTANICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 Magnolia glauca, Liiv. Sp. pi.— Michaux, i. 323. — Ptjrsh, 
 ii. 381. — ^MicHAux, rix. Arb. foresU iii. 77. — Magnolia lauri 
 folio subtus albicante. Catesbt, Car. i, t. 39. — Trew, sel. t. 9. 
 — DiLLENius, Rort. £0r. 1 168, /. 205. — Laurus tulipifera &c. — 
 Raius, hist. 1690. 
 
 MEDICAL REFERENCES. 
 Kaim, Travels, i. 205. — Marshall, Arbustum, 83. — ^Hum- 
 phries, Med. Commentaries^ vol. xviii. — Bart. Coll. 46. — Price, 
 Inaugural Diss. Philad. 1812. 
 
 PLATE XXVII. 
 
 Fig. 1. .R flowering branch of Magnolia glauca. 
 Fig. 2. The fruit and seeds. 
 Fig. 3. Stamen magnified. 
 Fig. 4, A germ and style ditto. 
 
pi.xzvin. 
 
COBNUS FLOEIDA. 
 
 Logwooih 
 
 PLATE XXVlIh 
 
 T 
 
 HE family of Cornels, if surveyed bj oth- 
 er eyes than those of botanists, is remarkable 
 for the difference of growth and appearance of its 
 various species. Many of them are shrubs ; a few 
 attain to the stature of trees, while some are so 
 humble in their growth as to be deemed hardly 
 more than herbaceous. A part have their flowers 
 surrounded with a fine white involucrum, many 
 tioies exceeding the whole bunch in magnitude 5 
 while others present their naked cymes unadorn- 
 ed by any investment. To the botanical observer 
 they all exhibit a close affinity and resemblance to 
 each other ; which is seen in the form and anatom- 
 ical texture of their leaves, the structure of their 
 flowers and the appearance of their fruit, 
 10 
 
74 CORNCJS FLORIDA. 
 
 The Cormis florida, or flowering Dogwood, is 
 the largest and most splendid of its genus, and is 
 one of the chief ornaments of our forests. As a tree 
 it is rather below the middle stature, not usually 
 reaching the height of more than twenty or thirty 
 feet. It is however among the most conspicuous 
 objects in the forests, in the months of April, May 
 and June, according to its latitude, being then 
 covered with a profusion of its large and ele- 
 gant flowers. In Massachusetts, especially about 
 Boston, it is not a common tree, only scatter- 
 ed individuals appearing here and there in the 
 woods. In the Middle States it is extremely com- 
 mon, especially in moist woods. Michaux informs 
 us, that in the Carolinas, Georgia and the Floridas 
 it is found only on the borders of swamps, and 
 never in the pine barrens, where the soil is too 
 dry and sandy to sustain its vegetation. It is al- 
 so not very common in the most fertile parts of 
 the Western States, being chiefly found where the 
 soil is of secondary quality.* 
 
 * Mr. William Bartram, in his travels in Georgia and Floridajgives 
 the following account of the appearance of this tree near the banks of 
 the Alabama river. *' We now entered a very remarkable grove of 
 Dogwood trees, f CornusJiorida,J which continued nine or ten miles 
 unalterable, except here and there a towering Magnolia grandijiora. 
 The land on which they stand is an exact level ; the surface a shallow, 
 loose, black mould, on a stratum of stiff, yellowish clay. These trees 
 
 -% 
 
DOGWOOD. 75 
 
 The genus Cornus is characterized by the fol- 
 lowing marks. Petals four, superior ; involucriun 
 of four leaves, or wanting ; drupe with a two-cell- 
 ed nut. The species ^oWdrt is arboreous, with its 
 flozvers in heads surrounded by an involucmim of 
 obovate leaves with recurved points. 
 
 Class Tetandria, order Monogynia, natural or- 
 der Stellatoe, Lin, Caprifolia. Juss. 
 
 The Cornus florida is of slow growth, and pos- 
 sesses a very compact wood, covered with a rough, 
 broken bark. The branches are smooth, covered 
 with a reddish bark, marked with rings at the 
 place of the former leaves. The leaves, which 
 are small at the flowering time, are opposite, peti- 
 oled, oval, acute, entire, nearly smooth, paler be- 
 
 were about twelve feet high, spreading horizontally, their limbs, meet- 
 ing and interlocking with each other, formed one vast, shadj, cool 
 grove, so dense and humid as to exclude the sun-beams, and prevent 
 the intrusion of almost every other vegetable, aflfording us a most de- 
 sirable shelter from the fervid sun-beams at noon day. This admi- 
 rable grove has by way of eminence acquired the name of Dog woods. 
 During a progress of near seventy miles through this high forest, 
 there constantly presented to view, on one hand or the other, spa- 
 cious groves of this fine flowering tree, which must in the spring sea- 
 son, when covered with blossoms, present a most pleasing spectacle, 
 when at the same time a variety of other sweet shrubs display 
 their beauty ; as the Halesia, Stewartia, ^sculus. Azalea, &c. en- 
 tangled with garlands of Bignonia, Glycine, Lonicera, &c. &c. at the 
 same time the superb Magnolia grandiflora standing in front of the 
 dark groves, towering far above the commoa level." Travels, p. 399. 
 
76 CGRNTJS FLORIDA. 
 
 neath, and marked, as in others of the genus, with 
 strong parallel veins. The flowers, which are 
 very small, grow in heads or sessile umbels, upon 
 peduncles an inch or more in length. At the 
 base of each bunch is the large spreading involu- 
 crum,constitatingthe chief beauty of the tree when 
 in flower. This involucrum is composed of four 
 white, nerved, obovate leaves, having their point 
 turned abruptly down or up, so as to give them an 
 obcordate appearance. This point has frequently 
 a reddish tinge. Calyx superior, somewhat bell- 
 shaped, ending in four obtuse spreading teeth. 
 Petals four, oblong, obtuse, reflexed. Stamens 
 four, erect, the anthers oblong with the filaments 
 inserted in their middle. Style erect, shorter 
 than the stamens, with an obtuse stignua. The 
 fruit is an oval drupe of a glossy scarlet colour, 
 containing a nucleus with two cells and two seeds. 
 The bark of the Cornus florida is a powerful 
 bitter, possessing also an astringent and somewhat 
 aromatic taste. Both tannin and the gallic acid 
 are abundantly developed in its solutions by their 
 proper tests. In my experiments with the bark 
 of young twigs, but a small quantity of pure resin 
 was made manifest. It would seem that the prin- 
 cipal seat of the bitterness is in a variety of ex- 
 tractive matter. 
 
DOGWOOD. 77 
 
 In a valuable inaugural dissertation on tlie 
 CornuS florida and Cornus sericea by Dr. Walker 
 of Virginia, much attention appears to have been 
 bestowed on the chemical properties of their bark. 
 He found that water distilled from the bark in 
 powder had a transparent, whitish appearance, 
 with a slight aromatic odour, and no perceptible 
 taste. When the heat was increased, the fluid 
 had a lemon colour, with an unpleasant smell and 
 an acerb taste. These effects were probably pro- 
 duced by the volatilization and partial decompo- 
 sition of portions of the bark in consequence of 
 the heat being continued until the mixture was 
 evaporated nearly to dryness. 
 
 With a view to ascertain the effect of different 
 menstrua. Dr. Walker subjected to experiment the 
 residual mass furnished by evaporating a decoc- 
 tion of the root of Cornus florida. Two drachms 
 of this residuum, which had been furnished by 
 seven and an half ounces of the decoction, were 
 macerated in successive quantities of the best al- 
 cohol, until the last portion ceased to be changed 
 in colour and taste. The part, which remained 
 undissolved, weighed only half a drachm. When 
 redissolved it was destitute of taste, and underwent 
 no change of colour on adding the test of iron. 
 The alcohol, which had been employed in the ex- 
 
78 CORNUS FLORIDA. 
 
 periment, was found to possess an intensely bitter 
 taste with astringency, of a clear red colour, and 
 turning to a deep black on the addition of iron. 
 On evaporation, it yielded a drachm and an half of 
 residuum. — Dr. Walker attempted to ascertain the 
 quantity of resin by macerating the alcoholic ex- 
 tract in repeated portions of sulphuric ether. 
 The ether acquired a dark colour and a bitter 
 taste, and was found to have dissolved three quar- 
 ters of the extract. When tested with iron, it was 
 found that the remaining quarter only was chang- 
 ed to a black colour. 
 
 The Cornus florida is one of the many vege- 
 tables wliich, by the union of their gallic acid with 
 the salts of iron, form a black compound, applica- 
 ble to the purposes of ink. The constancy of 
 the black colour thus produced varies greatly, ac- 
 cording to the substance from which the gallic 
 acid is derived. It is often extremely fugacious, 
 sometimes fading in a few days, and at others be- 
 coming indistinct after some weeks or months. 
 Considering the very great importance of the pur- 
 poses for which ink is employed, and the immense 
 evils which may result from its obliteration in writ- 
 ings intended for permanency ; it is with extreme 
 caution that we should recommend the introduction 
 of any change in the mode of its formation. The 
 
DOGWOOD. 79 
 
 oak gall has had the experience of ages in favour 
 of its permanence and immutability. It is not 
 until some indigenous article, producing au equal 
 intensity of colour, has undergone a series of tri- 
 als from time and exposure, sufficient to establish 
 beyond a doubt its durability, that its substitution 
 in the manufacture of ink should be considered 
 expedient or even justifiable. 
 
 Upon the human body the bark of the Cornus 
 florid a acts as a tonic, an astringent and an anti- 
 septic, approaching in its general effects to the 
 character of the Peruvian bark. From a variety 
 of experiments made by Dr. Walker upon the 
 healthy system, it was found that this medicine 
 uniformly increased the force and frequency of 
 the pulse, and augmented the heat of the body. 
 Collateral experiments were made at the same 
 time with the Peruvian bark, with which the Cor- 
 nus appeared to agree both in its internal and ex- 
 ternal effects. 
 
 In disease it has been principally employed in 
 the same cases for which the cinchona is resorted 
 to, particularly intermittent and remittent fever, 
 iJr. Gregg of Pennsylvania, cited by Dr. Walker, 
 states, that after employing the Cornus florida ha- 
 bitually for twenty three years in the treatment of 
 iiitermittents, he was satisfied that it was not in- 
 
BO CORNLS FLORIDA, 
 
 ferior to the Peruvian bark as a means of care ia 
 such cases. Among the number of cures by this 
 medicine, was tliat of his own case. He observ- 
 ed that in its recent state it sometimes disagreed 
 with the stomach and bowels, but that this ten- 
 dency in the article was corrected by age. He 
 recommends the bark as being in the best state 
 after it has been dried a year. 
 
 Other medical men have employed the bark 
 of this tree with advantage in intermittents, and 
 also in continued fevers of the typhoid type. Its 
 tonic operation in these cases appears very analo- 
 gous to that of the Peruvian bark. 
 
 I have employed the tincture of Cornus flori- 
 da as a stomachic in various instances of loss of 
 appetite and indigestion. The report of those 
 who have taken it has perhaps been as frequently 
 in favour of its effects, as of gentian, columbo, and 
 the other imported tonics of the shops, though 
 perhaps it is somewhat more liable to offend the 
 stomach in large doses. In the Southern States 
 a decoction of the buds and twigs has been thought 
 to agree better with weak stomachs, than the oth- 
 er preparations. 
 
 Some other species of this family resemble the 
 present tree in the bitterness and tonic power of 
 tlieir bark, particularly the Cornus circinata and 
 C. sericea. 
 
i30GW00D. 81 
 
 The wood of the Cornus florida is hard, heavy 
 and fine grained, and susceptible of a good pol- 
 ish. It is employed for various purposes where 
 strength and solidity are required, although its 
 small size does not permit it to be used for ob- 
 jects of much magnitude. From its hardness it 
 is found peculiarly useful for handles of instru- 
 ments, the teeth of wheels, and the smaller parts 
 of wooden machinery. 
 
 BOTANICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 Conius florida, Liw. Sp.pl. — Gron^ovitjs, Virg. 17.— -Kaxm, 
 •travels, ii. 321. — Wastgenheim, Amer. p. 51, t. 17. — L'Heri- 
 TiEE, Corn, n. 3.— Schmidt, Jirh. t. 62 — Botanical Mag. t. 526. 
 — -PuRSH, i. 108. — ^MiCHAUx, FiL. ArbresforestierSs iii. 138, trans- 
 latedf i. 255. — Eliiott, Car. i. 207. — Cornus mas Virginianaj 
 kc. — .Pltjkenet, Mm. 120, t. %J. 3. — Catesby, Car. t. 27. 
 
 MEDICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 -Walkee, Inaugural Disseftatmh Philail. 1303. — EAFiT. Colt. 
 12. — .THACHEa, Disp. 203. — Elliott, ut supra. 
 
 ■ PLATE XXVIII. 
 
 Fig, 1. Cornus fiorMa, a braiidi witlijiowers, and one with havts. 
 Fig. 2. Fruit. 
 Fis:. S. A Hower. 
 
PA]^Ax auiisrauEFOLimi. 
 
 Ginseng. 
 
 TLJITE XXIX. 
 
 N the early part of the eighteenth century 
 some accounts were sent to Europe hy travellers 
 and missionaries, of a root growing in Chinese 
 Tartary, known by the name of Ginsengs upon 
 which a \\m\\ value was set bv the eastern Asiat- 
 ics, and which was sold in the cities of China at an 
 enormous price. Father Jartoux, a missionary at 
 Pekin, who had an opportunity of witnessing the 
 collection and use of this root, made a drawing of 
 the plant, accompanied with a particular descrip- 
 tion, and an account of its uses, and the cause of 
 its high estimation and demand among the Chi- 
 nese. While on a journey among the mountains 
 of Tartary, performed under the sanction of the 
 emperor of China, he met in various instances 
 
GINSENG. 83 
 
 with the plant, and with people employed in col- 
 lecting it. He states that the root is found prin- 
 cipally between the 39th and 47th degree of north 
 latitude, in thick forests, upon the declivities of 
 mountains, on the hanks of torrents, and about 
 the roots of trees. It never grows in the open 
 plains or vallies, but always in dark, shady situa- 
 tions, remote from the sun's rays. 
 
 As the right of gathering this root is monop- 
 olized by the emperor of China, the most exten- 
 sile precautions are taken by him to prevent an 
 encroachment on this privilege. The places 
 where the Ginseng is known to grow are guarded 
 with great vigilance, and a whole province, that 
 of Q,uantong, bordering on the desert, is surround- 
 ed by a barrier of wooden stakes, about which 
 guards continually patrole, to keep the inhabitants 
 within bounds, and prevent them from making 
 excursions into the woods, in search of the pro- 
 hibited drug. Notwithstanding this vigilance, 
 their eagerness after gain incites the Chinese to 
 wander by stealth in the desert, sometimes to the 
 number of two or three thousand, in searcli of the 
 root, at the hazard of losing their libert}, and all 
 the fruits of their labour, if they are taken. The 
 emperor employs his own servants for the pur- 
 pose of collection, and in the year 1709, had ten 
 
84 PANAX QUINQCEFOLIUM. 
 
 thousand Tartars engaged in scouring tlie woods 
 in pursuit of the plant. Each man so employed 
 was obligated to present his majesty two ounces 
 of the best he should collect, and to sell him the 
 rest for its weight in pure silver. At this rate it 
 was computed that the emperor would get in a 
 year, about 20,000 Chinese pounds, which would 
 cost him not above one quarter of its value, at the 
 common rate of selling it. 
 
 The collectors of the Ginseng carry with them 
 neither tents nor beds, every one being sufficient- 
 ly loaded with his provision, which is only parch- 
 ed millet, on which he is obliged to subsist during 
 the whole journey. The mandarins send them 
 from time to time some pieces of beef, with such 
 game as they happen to take, which they eat very 
 greedily, and almost raw. They are accustomed 
 to sleep on the ground, and notwithstanding six 
 months are passed in this way, they continue lus* 
 ty and in perfect health. 
 
 The army of herbalists, in order to scour the 
 country effectually, divide themselves into compa- 
 nies of one hundred each, which proceed forward 
 in direct line, every ten of them keeping at a dis- 
 tance from the rest. In this way they overrun an 
 extensive wilderness in a short space of time. 
 
GINSENG, 85 
 
 If any one of the company ^vas wanting, as it 
 often happened, either hy having wandered oat of 
 the way, or being attacked by wild beasts, the 
 party devoted a day or two to search for him, and 
 then returned to their labour. 
 
 The root of the Ginseng is the only part pre- 
 served. The collectors bury in the ground every 
 ten or fifteen days all that they have procured. 
 In order to prepare it for use, they dip it in scald- 
 ing water, and scour it with a brush. The roots 
 ai*e then prepared with the fumes of a species of 
 millet, to give them a yellow colour. The millet 
 is put in a vessel with a little water and boiled 
 over a gentle fire. The roots are placed over the 
 vessel upon transverse pieces of wood, being first 
 covered with a linen cloth or another vessel. 
 When treated in this way they assume upon dry- 
 ing a horny or semi-trans parant appearance. 
 
 The roots may also be dried in the sun, or by 
 the fire, and retain their qualities perfectly. In 
 this case, however, they have not that yellow col- 
 our, which the Chinese so much admire. 
 
 The Chinese consider the Ginseng as possessing 
 unequalled medicinal powers, antl their physicians 
 have written many volumes upon the qualities of 
 the plant. It is made an ingredient in almost all 
 the remedies which they ^ive to their nobility, its 
 
86 PANAX QUINQUEFOLIUM. 
 
 price being' too expensive for the common people* 
 The sick take it to recover health, and the healthy 
 to make themselves stronger and more vigorous. 
 They affirm that it removes all fatigue, either of 
 body or mind, dissolves humours, cures pulmona- 
 ry diseases, strengthens the stomach, increases 
 tlie vital spirits, and prolongs life to old age. [ts 
 price at Pekin, according to travellers, has been 
 eight or nine times its weight in silver, and even 
 more. 
 
 Father Jartoux became so far a convert to the 
 virtues of the plant, that he tells us that after hav- 
 ing taken half of a root, he found his pulse quick- 
 er and fuller, iiis appetite improved, and his 
 strength increased so as to bear labour better 
 than before. On another occasion, finding liim- 
 self so fatigued and wearied as to be scarce able 
 to sit on horseback, a mandarin in company per- 
 ceiving his distress, gave one of the roots. He 
 took half of it, and in an hour was not sensible 
 of any weariness. "I have observed," says he, 
 " that the green leaves, especially the fibrous part 
 of them, when chewed, would produce nearly the 
 same effect. The Tartars often bring us the 
 leaves of Ginseng instead of tea, and I always 
 find myself so well afterwards, that I should read- 
 ily prefer them before the best tea. Their de- 
 
GINSENG. 87" 
 
 coction is of a grateful colour, and when one has 
 taken it twice or tlmce, its taste and smell be- 
 come very pleasant.'' 
 
 The Chinese use a decoction of the root, for 
 which they employ about a fifth part of an ounce 
 at a time. This they boil in a covered vessel 
 with two successive portions of water, in order to 
 extract all its virtue. 
 
 The following is the substance of Jartoux's de- 
 scription of the Asiatic plant. The root is whit- 
 ish, rugged and uneven. The stalk is round, and 
 shaded with red ; it terminates in a knot or joint 
 at top, from which proceed four equal branches. 
 Each branch produces five leaves, which are equi- 
 distant from each other, and from the ground. 
 The leaves are unusually thin and fine, with their 
 fibres very distinguishable, and a few whitish hairs 
 on the upper side. Their colour is dark green 
 above, and a pale, shining green underneath. All 
 the leaves are serrated or finely indented on the 
 edge, — From the centre of the branches rises a 
 second stalk which is very straight and smooth, 
 and whitish from bottom to top, bearing a bunch 
 of round fruit, of a beautiful red colour, composed 
 of twenty four red berries. The red skin of the 
 berry is thin and smooth, and contains a white 
 pulp. As these berries were double, (for they 
 
88 PANAX Q.UINQ.UEPOLIUM. 
 
 are sometimes found single,) each of tliem had 
 two rough stones, separated from each other, of 
 nearly the size and figure of common lentils. 
 The herries were supported on small sprigs, 
 •which rose from a common centre like the rays of 
 a sphere. The fruit is not good to eat. The ber- 
 ries are not round but a little flat on each side. 
 When they are double there is a depression or 
 hollow place in the middle where the two parts 
 unite. Each berry has a small beard at top dia- 
 metrically opposite to the sprig on which it hangs. 
 When the berry is dry there remains only a shrivel- 
 led skin, adhering close to tbe stones, of a dark 
 red, or black colour. 
 
 The plant dies away and springs up again 
 every year. The number of years may be known 
 by the number of stalks it has shot fortb, of which 
 there always remains a mark or scar on the up- 
 per pai't of the root. 
 
 "As to the flower,'' says he, "not liaving seen 
 it, I can give no description of it. Some say it is 
 white and very small; others have assured me 
 that the plant has none, and that nobody ever saw 
 it. I rather believe that it is so small and so little 
 remarkable, that none of tb.em ever took notice 
 of it. 
 
GINSENG. 89 
 
 " There are some plants, Avhich, besides the 
 bunch of berries, have one or two berries like the 
 former, placed an inch or an inch and an half be- 
 low the bunch. And when this happens, they 
 say if any one takes notice of the point of compass 
 to which these berries direct, he will not fail to 
 find more of the plant." 
 
 The foregoing description of Jartoux is intro- 
 duced as being a very iotelligible description of 
 a plant, in language not the most botanical. The 
 drawing, which accompanies the description, is 
 verv satisfactory. 
 
 The report of the high value of the Ginseng at 
 Peldn led to an inquiry among Europeans, wheth- 
 er the plant was not to be found in parallel lati- 
 tudes, in the forests of Xorth America. Father 
 Lafiteau, a Jesuit, missionary among the Iroquois, 
 after much search, found a plant in Canada an- 
 swering the description, and sent it to France. 
 In 17 18, M. Sarrasin published in the Memoirs of 
 the Academy an account of the American Gin- 
 seng ; which, together v. ith one published by Laf- 
 iteau the same year, seemed to put its identity 
 vdth the Chinese vescetable bevond a doubt. 
 
 Soon after this the French commenced the 
 collection of the root in Canada for exportation. 
 For this purpose they employed the Indians. \v!io 
 12 
 
90 PANAX QUINQUEJPOLIUM. 
 
 brought it to tlie mercliants for a certain com- 
 pensation. At one period the Indians about Que- 
 bec and Montreal were so wholly taken up in the 
 search for Ginseng, that their services could not 
 be engaged for any other purpose. The Ameri- 
 can English engaged in the same traffic, and al- 
 though the plant is a rare one in the woods, yet 
 very large quantities of the root were collected. 
 In 1748, Kalm tells us the common price of the 
 root at Quebec was from five to six livres a pound. 
 The first shipments to China proved extremely 
 profitable to those concerned, especially to the 
 French. In a short time, however, the amount 
 exported overstocked the market, the Chinese be- 
 gan to think the American Ginseng inferior to 
 the Tartarian, and its value depreciated, so that it 
 ceased to be an object of profitable commerce. 
 Its demand has not materially risen at any subse- 
 quent period, although it is still occasionally ex- 
 ported. The Chinese most readily purchase the 
 forked or branching roots ; and those exporters 
 have been most successful, who have prepared 
 their Ginseng by clarifying it after the Chinese 
 manner. 
 
 The American Ginseng is thinly scattered 
 throughout the mountainous regions of the North- 
 ern and Middle States. Kalm informs us, that it 
 
GINSENG. 91 
 
 is seldom found north of Montreal. Miehanx 
 states that it inhabits mountains and rich, shady 
 woods from Canada to Tennessee. I have princi- 
 pally met with this plant in the western parts of 
 Massachusetts, and in Vermont, especially on the 
 sides of the Ascutney mountain. Bertram found 
 it near the mouth of the Delaware. 
 
 Linnsgiis has given to the genus of plants, 
 which includes the Ginseng, the name of Panacv^ 
 a Greek word, intended to express the reputed 
 character of the Chinese pcnicicea. 
 
 The character of this genus consists in a sim- 
 ple nmhel ; corolla jive petaUed; herry iiiferior, 
 two or three seeded; plants polygamous . 
 
 The species quinquefoUum has three qidnate 
 lea.ves. 
 
 The root of this plant consists of one or more 
 fleshy, oblong and somewhat fusiform portions, of 
 a whitish colour, transversely wrinkled, and ter- 
 minating in various radicles. Its upper portion 
 is slender and marked with the scars of the former 
 shoots. Stem smooth, round, green, with often a 
 tinge of red, regularly divided at top into three 
 petioles, witli a flower-stalk at their centre. Peti- 
 oles round, smooth, swelling at base. Leaves 
 three, compound, containing five, rarely three or 
 seven leafets. The partial leaf-stalks are given 
 
92 PANAX QtllNQUEFOLIUM. 
 
 off in a digitate manner, and are smooth, com- 
 pressed and farrowed above. Leafets oblong, ob- 
 ovate, sharply serrate, acuminate, smooth on both 
 sides, with scattered bristles on the veins above. 
 The flowers, which are small, grow in a simple 
 umbel on a round, slender peduncle, longer than 
 the petioles. The involucrum consists of a mul- 
 titude of short subulate leafets, interspersed with 
 the flower-stalks. These stalks or rays are so 
 short as to give the appearance of a head, rath- 
 er than umbel. In the perfect flowers the calyx 
 has five small acute teeth ; the corolla five petals, 
 "which are oval, reflexed and deciduous. Sta- 
 mens five, with oblong anthers. Styles two, re- 
 flexed, persistent ; germ large, inferior, ovate- 
 heart shaped, compressed. The berries are kid- 
 ney shaped, retuse at both ends, compressed, of a 
 bright scarlet colour, crowned with the calyx and 
 styles, and containing two semi-circular seeds. 
 In most umbels there are flowers with only one 
 style, in which case the berry has a semi-cordate 
 form, as represented in fig. 3. Sometimes there 
 are three styles and three seeds. The outermost 
 flowers ripen first, and their berries often obtain 
 their full size before the central ones are expand- 
 ed. The middle flowers are frequently abortive. 
 
GINSENG. * 93 
 
 There are also barren flowers, on sepai'ate 
 plants, which botanists describe as having hirger 
 petals, and an entire calyx. I have not met with 
 plants of this description in flower. 
 
 The foregoing character leaves little donbt 
 that the American plant is precisely the same 
 with the Asiatic, although Loureiro and some oth- 
 ers have disputed their identity. The description 
 of Jartoux, which has been given, as well as his 
 drawing of the plant, agrees in every respect, ex- 
 cept that his plant had four branches or leaves, 
 instead of three. This is accounted for by sup- 
 posing he had chosen a luxuriant specimen. — It 
 is somewhat remarkable that the names of the 
 Chinese, and of the North American Indians, 
 should signify the same thing in their respective 
 languages, viz. a resemblance to the figure of a 
 man. This resemblance, however, it must be con- 
 fessed, even in the branching roots, is rather of a 
 humble kind. 
 
 The genus Panax was placed by Linnaeus in 
 his class Polygamm, and by late writers in Pen- 
 tandria^ Bigynia, The plants of this f^imily were 
 also referred by Linnaeus to his natural order 
 Ilederacew, or somewhat heterogeneous assem- 
 ' blage of vegetables ; antl by Jussieu to his Araliw. 
 Later botanists have placed them among the Um- 
 
94 PANAX QUINQUEFOLIUM. 
 
 helUferoiLS vegetables, from which they differ ill 
 their berried fruit. The ^eniis most near to Pa- 
 Dax is unquestionably Aralia, which differs only 
 in the number of styles, a character extremely Aa- 
 liable in the Ginsengs.* 
 
 .g. 
 
 Tlie root of the Ginseng has an agreeable 
 taste, consisting of a mixture of sweet and bitter, 
 with some aromatic pungency. Water, both cohl 
 and hot, receives a gummy mucus, which is pre- 
 cipitated by alcohol. The watery extract has the 
 taste and smell of the root in a strong degree. 
 The distilled water gives evidence of a volatile oil, 
 and has the aroma, without the sweetness of the 
 root. The common tests indicate the presence 
 of but little resin, and no tannin. 
 
 As far as Ginseng has been tried medicinally 
 in this country, and in Europe, its virtues do not 
 appear, by any means, to justify the high estima- 
 tion of it by the Chinese. That it is not a very 
 active substance, is proved by the fact, that a 
 whole root may be eaten without inconvenience. 
 Its place in the materia mcdica is among demul- 
 cents. It approaches more nearly to liquorice, 
 than to any other uiedicine in its taste and exter- 
 
 * Panax trifoliiim, a beautiful little plant, with nearly the herb of 
 Anemone nemorosa, has always three styles and a tricoccous ber- 
 ry. P. quinquefolium varies from one to three styles, though the 
 usual number is two. 
 
GINSENG. ^O 
 
 iial qualities. Its extract forms a very neat pre- 
 paration, and is by no means unpleasant to the 
 taste. Dr. Fotliergill tells us, that " iu tedious 
 chronic coughs, incident to people in years, a de- 
 coction of it has been of service. It consists of a 
 lubricating mucilage combined with some degree 
 of aromatic warmth.'' 
 
 Crinseng is principally sold by our druggists 
 as a masticatory, many people having acquired an 
 habitual fondness for chewing it. It is certainly 
 one of the most innocent articles for this purpose. 
 
 BOTANICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 Panax quinquefolium, Lin. sp. pi. — Michaux, Florae ii. 256. 
 ■— PuE-SH, i. 191. — WooDviuLE, Med, Bot. i. t, 58. — Botanical 
 Mag. t, 1023. — Aureliana Canadensis, Catesby, Car. Suppl. t. 
 16.' — Bretnius in Prod, rar, p. 52. — Araliastrum foliis ternis 
 quinquepartitis, Ginseng sen Ninsin officinarum. — Tkew, Ehr. 
 f. 6,/. 1. 
 
 MEDICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 BouRDELiJT, Hist, de VJlcad. 1797. — Jartoux, tr. in Phil. Trans. 
 xxviii. 237.— Lafiteau, Memoires concernant la precieuse plante 
 de Ginseng. Paris, 1718. — Sarrasin, Hist. Acad. 1718. — Kaxm, 
 travels, tr. iii. 114. — Osbeck, China, p. 145. — Heberdeiv, Med, 
 Trans, iii. 34. — Fothergill, Gent. Mag. xxiii. 209. — Cuxlen^, 
 Mat. Med. Vol. ii. &c. 
 
9(5 PANAX QUINQUEFOLIUM, 
 
 PLATE XXIX. 
 
 Fig. 1. Panax quinquefolium. 
 
 Fig. 2. A Jiower magnified. 
 
 Fig. 3. JJmUl in jloxver, the external fruit nearly grown. 
 
 Fig. 4. Germ, calyx and styles magmfied. 
 
 Fig. 5. Root. 
 
? 
 
 
 0i) lAJ) 
 
FOLYG-ALA SENEGA, 
 
 Seneca Snake root. 
 
 PLATE XXX. 
 
 HE Seneca snake root lias attracted so gen- 
 eral an attention from the medical public, as to 
 have become an article of exportation to Europe, 
 and one which holds a regular place in the drug- 
 gist stores. The plant which produces it has 
 nothing to boast on the score of elegance, and 
 little to attract attention independent of its me- 
 dicinal virtues. It grows in most latitudes of the 
 United States, especially in the mountainous tracts. 
 The specimen, from which our drawing was taken, 
 was .gathered on the borders of Lake Champlain. 
 Tile genus Polygala has a jive leaved calyoc^ 
 two of the leaves wing like, and coloured. Capsule 
 ohcordate, two celled, and two valved. 
 13 
 
98 POLYGALA SENEGA. 
 
 The species Senega has erect, smooth, simple 
 stems, with alternate, lanceolate leaves, broadest at 
 base. Flowers slightly crested. 
 
 Class Biadelphia, order Octandria; natural 
 orders Loment ace as, Jjinn. Fediculares, Juss. 
 
 The Poljgala senega has a firm, hard, branch- 
 ing perennial root, consisting of a moderately solid 
 wood, and a thick bark. This root sends up a 
 number of annual stems, which are simple, smooth, 
 occasionally tinged with red. The leaves are 
 scattered, nearly or quite sessile, lanceolate, with 
 a subacute point, smooth, paler underneath. Flow- 
 ers white, in a close terminal spike. 1 he calyx, 
 which in this genus is the most conspicuous part 
 cf the flower, consists of five leafets, the two larg- 
 est of which, or wings, are roundish-ovate, white, 
 and slightly veined. Corolla small, closed, having 
 two obtuse lateral segments, and a short crested 
 extremity. Capsules obcordate, invested by the 
 persistent calyx, compressed, two celled, two 
 valved. Seeds two oblong-obovate, acute at one 
 end, slightly hairy, curved, blackish, with a longi- 
 tudinal, bifid, white appendage on the concave side. 
 The spike opens gradually, so that the lower flow- 
 ers ai'ein fruit while the upper ones are in blos- 
 som. 
 
SENECA SNAKE ROOT. 99 
 
 The rose coloured variety of this plant, as it 
 has heen considered hj Michaux, proves to be a 
 distinct species. Some species wliicli I possess 
 from Carolina have branching, pubescent stems, 
 and very long, loose spikes. Tlie flowers are sev- 
 eral times larger than those of P. senega. 
 
 The root of the Polygala senega has an un- 
 pleasant and somewhat acid taste. After chewing', 
 it leaves a sensation of acrimony in the mouth, 
 and still more in the fauces, if it has been swal- 
 lowed. These properties it coinmunicates fully 
 to water upon boiling. The process of decoction 
 does not appear to dissipate any of its power, since 
 the distilled water is destitute of the taste and 
 smell of the plant. Alcohol dissolves a substance, 
 apparently of the resinous kind, giving a precipi- 
 tate when water is added. Iron produces little 
 change in solutions of this root, and gelatin oc- 
 casions no alteration whatever. 
 
 Medicinally administered, the Seneca snake 
 root is sudorific and expectorant in small doses, 
 and emetic and cathartic in large ones. Its most 
 usual mode of exhibition is in decoction, which 
 may be made of suitable strength by boiling an 
 ounce of the root in a pint and an half of water, 
 till it is reduced to a pint. This preparation may 
 
100 POLY GALA SENEGA. 
 
 in most cases be given in doses of a table spoonful 
 and upward without disturbing the stomach. 
 
 The first reputation of the Seneca root was one 
 which it divides with a multitude of other plants, 
 that of curing the bite of the Rattlesnake. A re- 
 ward was given by the legislature of Pennsylva- 
 nia to Dr. Tennent for the promulgation of this 
 supposed property. When, however, we consider 
 the number of cases of recovery from the bite of 
 this serpent, under every variety of treatment, we 
 cannot avoid the conclusion, that these injuries 
 are not necessarily dangerous, and that spontane- 
 ous recoveries are perhaps as frequent as those 
 which are promoted by medicine. 
 
 More certain success attends the use of the 
 Seneca in pneumonia and some diseases related to 
 it. In the advanced stages of pneumonic inflam- 
 mation, after venesection and tlie other usual rem- 
 edies have been carried to their proper extent ; and 
 the cough still remains dry and painful, while the 
 debility of the patient forbids further depletion ; 
 in these cases, I have often found a decoction of 
 the Seneca root to afford very marked relief by 
 promoting expectoration, and relieving the tight- 
 ness and oppression of the chest. Various medl- 
 ey}, writers have spoken favourably of its employ- 
 
SENECA SNAKE ROOT. 101 
 
 mentin these cases, among whom are Lemery and 
 others, in the Memoirs of the French Academy. 
 It has been found injurious, from its stimulating 
 properties, when given at too early a stage, or 
 during the prevalence of much acute inflamma- 
 tion. 
 
 Benefit has been derived in asthma from the 
 use of this plant. The following is Dr. Bree's 
 opinion, quoted from his treatise on that disease. 
 " Decoction of seneka is eminently useful in the 
 first species, administered to old people, but in the 
 paroxysm of young persons, I have found it too 
 irritating. This distinction applies to convulsive 
 asthma purely uncomplicated, but the disease is 
 frequently observed in middle aged and elderly 
 persons, to take the character of peripneumonia 
 notha in the winter and spring, and seneka is then 
 the most useful medicine that I have tried. In 
 such cases, it should be united with acetated am- 
 monia, during the febrile state, and as this state 
 gives way, the adtlition of squill, and camphorated 
 tincture of opium, will be found to pi'omote ex- 
 pectoration, perspiration, and urine in a most 
 powerful manner." 
 
 In croup, this medicine was introduced into 
 notice by Dr. Archer of Maryland. He speaks 
 with much confidence of its utility in that disease, 
 
dOS POLYGALA SENEGA. 
 
 particularly in promoting the separation and dis- 
 charge of the membrane formed in the trachea of 
 patients affected by it. Such a membrane, how- 
 ever, does not exist in all cases of croup. And 
 in the early part of the complaint it may be ques- 
 tioned, how far a medicine, which acts as a stimu- 
 lant to the fauces and neighbouring organs, is en- 
 titled to reliance, in a local inflammation of the 
 trachea. It ought not from such a reliance to 
 exclude more active remedies, especially vcec- 
 section. Dr. Archer's mode of administering it 
 is to give a tea-spoonful of a strong decoction 
 every hour or half hour, according to the urgency 
 of the symptoms, and during the intervals, a few 
 drops occasionally, to keep up a sensible action of 
 the medicine upon the mouth and throat, until it 
 acts as an emetic or cathartic. 
 
 In various forms of dropsy, the Seneca root 
 has been resorted to with advantage, and has re- 
 ceived the commendations of Percival, Millman, 
 and some others. Its cathartic and diuretic effects 
 are vei-y considerable, when regularly persevered 
 in, in quantities as lai'ge as will set easily on the 
 stomach ; and have in various instances effected 
 the dissipation of dropsical swellings. 
 
 In chronic rheumatism, this root sometimes 
 does good by its universally stimulant and diapho- 
 
SENECA SNAKE ROOT. iOS 
 
 retic effects. The following case occurred to me 
 some time since in practice. A man labouring 
 under severe rheumatism was ordered to take at 
 intervals a wine glass full of a strong decoction 
 of the Senega made from an ounce of the root in 
 a pint of water. The patient, from a desire to 
 expedite the cure, thought proper to drink the 
 whole quantity at once. The consequence was 
 the most violent vomiting and purging, which 
 lasted the whole night, accompanied with profuse 
 diaphoresis. The patient, as might have been 
 hoped from the violence of the operation, was rad- 
 ically relieved of his disorder. 
 
 In uterine complaints, particularly amenorrhea, 
 the Polygala senega has been found of decided 
 efficacy. Dr. Chapman of Philadelphia is one of 
 the authorities for its use in these cases. It must 
 be given largely, and continued for some time. 
 
 The most common mode of exhibition of this 
 root is in decoction, as already mentioned. It is 
 also given in pov/der in doses of twenty or thirty 
 grains. Dr. Tennent likewise employed a wine 
 of Senega made by digesting four ounces of the 
 root in a pound of wine, of which three spoonfuls 
 were given at a dose. 
 
104 POLY GALA SENEGA. \ 
 
 BOTANICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 Polygala senega, Liiv. Sp, pL Walter, Car 178. — Wood- 
 viLLE, ii. t. 93. — Bot. Mug. t. 1051. — Michatjx, ii. 53. — Pursh, 
 ii.464.' — 'Polygala caule simplici erecto, &c. Gronovius, Virg. 80. 
 
 MEDICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 Tennent, Biseases of Virginia. — Lemery, Duhamei, &c. 
 HisU de VJlcad. 1739, 136. — Archer, Med. Sf Phtjs. Journal, i. 83, 
 106. — Percival, Med. Journal, iv. 67.— Bree on Asthma, 258« 
 — Massie, Inaug. Diss. Fhilad. 1803. — Thacher, Disjj. 319. — 
 JV*. Evg. Journal, vii. 206. 
 
 PLATE XXX. 
 
 Fig. 1. Polygala senega. 
 Fig. 2, Jijlower magnified. 
 Fig. 3. Calyx of the same. 
 Fig. 4. Corolla magnified* 
 Fig. 5. Capsule. 
 Fig. 6. Jlseed, 
 
^^ .^zj:i 
 
AMERICAN 
 
 MEDICAL BOTANY. 
 
 LIRIODENDROX TULIPIFERA. 
 
 Tulip Tree, 
 
 PLATE xxxi. 
 
 J. HE vegetable world can hardly offer a more 
 interesting object, than a tree of exalted stature 
 and extensive shade, covered with a beautiful and 
 singular foliage, putting forth from its boughs an 
 immense number of large and variegated flowers, 
 at the same time that its trunk affords one of the 
 most useful species of wood, and its bark an aro- 
 matic medicinal agent. Such an one is the Tulip 
 tree of the United States. 
 
 The forests of the Middle and Western States, 
 according to the representation of Michaux, a- 
 bound with the Liriodendron tulipifera, as do like- 
 wise the elevated parts of Carolina and Georgia. 
 It is found in the Kew England states, but is 
 principally confined to the southern parts of them. 
 
108 LIRIODENDRON TULIPIFERA. 
 
 Cultivated trees are common in Boston and its 
 vicinity, but I have never met with it in the woods 
 of this part of the country, nor to the north of it 
 upon the sea hoard. 
 
 In point of size the Liriodendron is exceeded 
 by few trees of the !North American forest. Its 
 growth is regular, straight and majestic. Its trunk 
 often acquires a diameter of from two to three 
 feet, and an elevation of eighty or ninety. In fa- 
 vourable situations it frequently exceeds these di- 
 mensions. Michaux measured a tree near Louis- 
 ville in Kentucky, which at five feet from the 
 ground was twenty two feet and an half in circum- 
 ference, and which he estimated to be a hundred 
 and twenty or a hundred and forty feet in height. 
 Catesby informs us that the circumference is 
 sometimes thirty feet. 
 
 The names of Tulip tree, White wood, Canoe 
 wood, and Poplar are applied to this tree in diffe- 
 rent parts of the United States. Its flowering 
 tim^ is in the months of May and June. 
 
 The genus Liriodendron, to which Linnseus 
 has assigned four species of trees, is characterized 
 by a double calyoc, the outer of two, the inner of 
 three leaves ; petals si^, seeds imbricated into a 
 cone. 
 
TULIP TREE. 109 
 
 The species tulipifera, the only one in Amer- 
 ica, is remarkably distinguished by its lobed and 
 truncated leaves. 
 
 Together with several other of our finest flow- 
 ering trees and shrubs, the Liriodendron is found 
 in the class Polyandria and order Polygynia, and 
 the natural orders Coadiinatas of Linnseus and 
 Magnolice of Jussieu. 
 
 The branches of the Tulip tree are of a grey- 
 ish colour inclining to red. The buds which ter- 
 minate them in winter are very curiously con- 
 structed. They are obovate, and flattened or 
 compressed into a sharp edge at the extremity. 
 They are made up of a number of concentric 
 sheaths, each of which contains a single minia- 
 ture leaf between it and the next interior sheath. 
 This leaf, instead of embracing the next sheath, is 
 folded up and bent down upon one side of it. 
 When vegetation begins in the spring the sheaths 
 swell to a large size before bursting, and at length 
 liberate the leaves one at a time, the remains of 
 each sheath becoming converted into a stipule. 
 
 The leaves of the Tulip tree have a form alto- 
 gether peculiar, and which is not resembled by 
 any other production of our forests. They are 
 divided into four pointed lobes and terminated by 
 a shallow notch, the extremity being nearly 
 
110 URIODENDRON TULIPIFERA. 
 
 square, and the middle rib ending abruptly, as if 
 eut aff. In the large leaves, the two lower lobes 
 are furnished with a tooth or additional lobe on 
 their outside. They are attached by long pedun- 
 cles and have a beautifully smooth and bright 
 green surface. There is one variety of this tree 
 which has the lobes of its leaves not pointed, but 
 very obtuse. The flowers are large, solitary, and 
 terminal. The outer calyx has two triangular 
 leaves which fall off as the flower expands. The 
 inner calyx consists of three large, oval, concave, 
 veined leaves, of a pale green colour, spreading at 
 first, but afterwards reflexed. Petals six, some- 
 times more, obtuse, concave, veined, of a pale yel- 
 lowish green, marked with an irregular, indented 
 crescent of bright orange on both sides toward 
 the base. Stamens numerous, with long linear 
 anthers opening outwardly, and short filaments. 
 Pistil a large, conical, acute body, its upper half 
 covered with minute, blackish, recurved stigmas ; 
 its lower furrowed, being a mass of coalescing 
 styles and germs. The fruit is a cone of imbri- 
 cated seed vessels, which are woody and solid, 
 their upper portion formed by a long lanceolate 
 scale. Seeds two^ blackish, ovate, one or both 
 oftefx abortive. ^^^^^^'' 
 
TULIP TREE. Ill 
 
 The bark of the Tulip tree has a very bitter 
 taste and a strong aromatic pungency. The lat- 
 ter property appears to reside in a volatile oil. 
 When the bark is distilled with water, it fills the 
 apartment with its fragrant odour, yet the product 
 of the distillation, at least when the process is con- 
 ducted in the small way with the luting of the ap- 
 paratus not perfectly tight, has scarcely any taste 
 or smell. Dr. Kogers informs us that he obtain- 
 ed an oily matter in th« form of a whitish scum 
 on the surface of the water in the receiver. A 
 bitter resin exists in small quantities in the bark. 
 Water dissolves a mucous substance, which is 
 precipitated in a flocculent form by alcohol. Wa- 
 ter is also impregnated with the bitterness, and, 
 if too much heat be not employed, with some of 
 the aroma of the tree. The sulphate of iron pro- 
 duced a dark brown colour, but a solution of isin- 
 glass did not increase the chemical evidence of 
 astringency, producing a barely perceptible effect. 
 Alcohol and proof spirit may be considered the 
 most perfect solvents of the active ingredients of 
 this article, although water dissolves enough to 
 produce its medicinal effect. 
 
 The bark both of the root and branches acts 
 on the system as a stimulating tonic and diapho- 
 retic, having properties resembling the Cascarilla 
 
113 LIRIODENDRON TULIPIFERA. 
 
 and other aromatic barks of the shops. The dis- 
 ease ia which it has been most employed is in- 
 termittent fever. But the triumph which results 
 from the occasional cure of this disease is now di- 
 vided among so large a list of tonic medicines, 
 that the distinction conferred by it is not of the 
 most signal kind. As a warm sudorific, this 
 bark seems well adapted to the treatment of 
 chronic rheumatism, and for this purpose it has 
 been employed with success by various medical 
 practitioners in the United States. In some dis- 
 eases of an inflammatory type in which it has been 
 recommended, its stimulating properties render 
 it more like to do harm than good. The only 
 personal acquaintance which I have had with it, 
 is as a stomachic. Administered with this view, 
 it has been acceptable and apparently useful to 
 patients who had derived occasional benefit from 
 " Huxham's tincture," " Stoughton's elixir,'' and 
 similar compositions of bitter and aromatic drugs. 
 The wood of the Tulip tree is smooth and fine 
 grained, very easily wrought and not liable to 
 split. It is used for various kinds of carving and 
 ornamental work, and for articles of house furni- 
 ture. In the Western States where pine lumber 
 is scarce, Michaux tells us, that the joinery or in- 
 side work of houses is most frequently of this 
 
TULIP TREE. 113 
 
 material. A common use of it tliroughout the 
 United States is in the manufacture of carriages 
 to form the pannels of coach and chaise bodies. 
 For this purpose it is particularly fitted by its 
 smoothness, flexibility and toughness.* 
 
 The true or heart wood of this tree is of a yel- 
 lowish colour and differs in proportion in different 
 trunks. We are told that two varieties of the 
 tree exist, denominated the yellow and the white, 
 and which appear to be in some measure produc- 
 ed by the mode and place of growth. The yellow 
 variety is most valuable, having least alburnum 
 and being less subject than the other to decay. 
 
 The Tulip tree has been long since introduc- 
 ed from this country into the forests and fields of 
 Europe. Its use, ornamental appearance, and the 
 facility with v» hicli it is raised, have rendered it one 
 of the most prominent and interesting objects of 
 forest cultivation. 
 
 * The various economical uses of this tree are treated of at 
 large in the splendid work of the younger Michaux on the Forest 
 trees of JS^orth America. Those who appreciate the value of a cor- 
 rect knowledge of the various internal resources of our country, will 
 be gratified that a translation of this important work, with the origi- 
 nal plates, is now publishing at Paris and Philadelphia. 
 
i 14 LIRIODENDRON TULIPIFERA. 
 
 BOTANICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 Liriodendron tulipifera, LiivNieus, Sp. pi. — Curtis, Bot. 
 Mag. t, 275. — MiCHAUX, i. 526. — Michaux, rii, Arbresforesti- 
 erSf iii. 202. — Puesh, ii. 382. — Liriodendron foliis angulatis trun- 
 catis, Trew, Ehret, 2. t. 10. Tulipifera virginiana &c« 
 •Catesbt, Car. 1. U 48, — Pxukenet, 1. 117./. 5. &c. 
 
 MEDICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 Rush, Trans. FhU. Col. i. 183. — Bart. Coll. 14. — Ciax- 
 TON, Phil. Trans, ahr, viii. 332. — Rogers, Znaitg-Mraidisserfoiiojij 
 1802. 
 
 PLATE XXXI. 
 
 Fig. 1. Jl branch of Liriodendron tulipifera. 
 
 Fig. 2. Stamens presenting different sides. 
 
 Fig. 3. FistiU 
 
 Fig. 4. Fruit. 
 
 Fig. 5. One of the seeds with its scale or envelope. 
 
wBt^.'.-'i: '^^^I'L:\:.. 
 
 IfeiWi 
 
 ■0^^ 
 
 mm M|gpiiqqm 
 
 
 %5^ 
 
 
 m ^^ 
 
 @. 
 
JUGLANS CIISEREA. 
 
 Butternut, 
 
 PLATE XXXII, 
 
 Of the forest trees which deserve attention 
 for other properties than the uses of their timber, 
 the Butternut is undoubtedly one of the most in- 
 teresting ; its fruit, bark and juices being all con- 
 vertible to use. In favourable situations it becomes 
 a large tree, having frequently a trunk of three 
 feet in diameter. It is abundant in the North- 
 ern and Middle States, as well as in the Western 
 country. Some parts of the District of Maine, I 
 am told, produce woods of considerable extent, 
 consisting wholly of this tree. Michaux tells us, 
 that it is common in the states of Kentucky and 
 Tennessee, that it abounds on the banks of Lake 
 Erie, the Ohio and even the Missouri. The same 
 author states that it is found in the mountainous 
 
116 JUG1.ANS CINEREA. 
 
 parts of Carolina and Georgia, but that he has not 
 met with it in the lower or level portions of the 
 Southern States. It is variously known by the 
 names o£ Butternut, Oilnut and White Walnut, 
 
 The genus Jugians or Walnut appertains to 
 thfeLinnae an class Monwcia and order Polyan- 
 drial' Its natural orders are Jimentaceoe of Lin- 
 nsetis and Terebintacem of Jussieu. 
 
 This genus h^s its harren flowers in aments 
 with a siiJC'parted calyx ; its fertile flowers with 
 a four-cleft superior calyx ; a four-parted corolla i 
 two styles ; anil a coriaceous drupe with a furrow- 
 ed nut ^sr^'^";^'' 
 
 The species cinerea has its leaflets numerous, 
 ohlong-lanceolate, rounded at hase, downy under^ 
 neath, serrate. Fruit ohlong-o^mte with a termin- 
 al projection, viscid and hairy ; nut oblong, acumi- 
 nate, with a rough, indented and ragged surface. 
 
 The leaves of the Butternut tree when fully 
 grown are very long, consisting of fifteen or seven- 
 teen leafets, each of which is two or three inches 
 long, rounded at base, acuminate, finely serrate 
 and downy. 
 
 The flowers appear in May before the leaves 
 are expanded to theu'fuU size. The barren flow- 
 ers hang in large aments from the sides of the 
 last year's shoots, near their extremities. The 
 
BtTTERNUT. 117 
 
 scales which compose them are ohlong" and deep- 
 ly cleft on each side into about three teeth or 
 segments. The anthers are about eight or ten in 
 number, oblong and nearly sessile. The fertile 
 flowers grow in a short spike at the end of the 
 new shoot. They are sessile and universally 
 pubescent and viscid. When fully grown, they 
 seem to consist of a large oblong germ and a 
 forked feathery style. The top of the germ, 
 however, presents an obscurely four-toothed ca- 
 1}^.' Within this is a corolla of four nari'ow lan- 
 ceolate petals growing to the sides of the style. 
 The style divides into two large, diverging, feath- 
 ery stigmas nearly as long as the germ. These 
 flowers are somewhat later than the aments in 
 their appearance. The fruit is sessile, several to- 
 gether on the sides and extremity of a long pe- 
 duncle. It is of a green colour, broAvn when ripe, 
 oblong-oval, pointed, hairy and extremely viscid. 
 It contains a nut which is of a dark colour, cari- 
 nated on both sides, sharp pointed, its whole sur- 
 face roughened by deep indentures and sharp 
 prominences. The kernel is more regular than 
 in most nuts of its kind, is very oily, pleasant to 
 the taste when fresh, but acquires a rancid taste 
 bv ao-e. 
 
118 JUGLANS GINEREA. 
 
 The bark of the branches affords a large quan- 
 tity of soluble matter, chiefly of the extractive 
 kind. In a concentrated tincture I have not been 
 able to detect any appearance of resin. N^o evi- 
 dence of tannin is produced by the test of gelatin. 
 A brownish black colour is caused by the sulphate 
 of iron. The distilled water possesses the taste 
 of the bark in a considerable degree. We are 
 authorized to conclude that water is an adequate 
 solvent for this article, and experience has shewn 
 that the watery extract is one of its best prepar- 
 ations. 
 
 The sap of the Butternut tree is saccharine, 
 like that of the Maple, and may be procured in 
 large quantities. In the third volume of the Mas- 
 sachusetts Agricultural Repository is an account 
 of an experiment made on this tree by Mr. M. P. 
 Gray. He states that four trees, the trunks of 
 which were only from eight to ten inches in di- 
 ameter, produced in one day nine quarts of sap, 
 from which was made one pound and a quarter of 
 sugar. This quantity, it appears from his state- 
 ment, is equal if not superior to that which the 
 maple affords in the same vicinity. 
 
 The inner bark of tliis tree, especially that ob- 
 tained from the root, affords one of the most mild 
 and efficacious laxatives which we possess. It is 
 
BUTTERNUT. 119 
 
 commonly employed in the form of an extract, 
 which preparation is kept in our druggists' shops. 
 Ten or twelve grains of this extract operate gent- 
 ly, and twenty or thirty grains with considerable 
 activity on the bow^els. It has been used for 
 many years in this town by the miost respectable 
 practitioners. The lute Dr. Warren thought 
 highly of its efficacy, and employed it extensively 
 in various complaints, especially in dysentery. 
 During the revolutionary war, when foreign medi- 
 cines were scarce, this extract was resorted to by 
 many of the army surgeons, as a substitute for 
 more expensive imported drugs. In dysentery it 
 seems at one time to have acquired a sort of spe- 
 cific reputation. 
 
 From numerous trials which I have made with 
 this medicine, it appears to me to possess the 
 qualities of an useful and innocent laxative. When 
 fresli and properly prepared, it is very certain in 
 its effect, and leaves the bowels in a good state. 
 in cases of habitual costiveness it is to be prefer- 
 red to more stimulating cathartics, and many 
 persons whose state of health has rendered them 
 dependent on the use of laxative medicines, have 
 given this the preference after the trial of a vari- 
 ety of other medicines. 
 
120 JUGLANS CINEREA. 
 
 A patent medicine, long vended in this state 
 under the name of Ciiamberlain's Bilious Cordial, 
 was a tincture of this bark combined with various 
 aromatic seeds. 
 
 The bark is said to be rubefacient when exter- 
 nally applied, and even capable of exciting a blis- 
 ter. Of this I have had no experience. 
 
 BOTANICAL REFEREINCES. 
 
 Juglans cinerea, LiNT?fjEUs, Sp. pi. — jAcquijr, Ic. rar, i. t, 
 192. — WiLU)Exow, arb. 156. — Wangenheim, »Slmer. 21. t9.f. 
 21. — MiCHAux, ii. 191. — Pursh, ii. 636. 
 
 Juglans oblonga Retz. Obs. i. p. 10. — Juglans cathartica, 
 MicHAUX, rn. Arbres foresiiers, i. 165. 
 
 MEDICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 Thacher, Dis^, 245. — Bart. Col, 23. 32. — Rush, Med. 
 06s. i. 112. 
 
 PLATE XXXIL 
 
 Fig. 1. Ji. branch of Juglans cinerea in Jlower, the leaves not fully 
 
 expanded. 
 Fig. 2. J. scale or barren flower from the ament magnified. 
 Fig. 3. J fertile flower magmfed. 
 Fig. 4. The fruit. 
 
3 2 
 
 1 
 
 ^.y> 
 
VERATRUM VIRIDE. 
 
 American Hellebore. 
 
 PLATE XXXIIt 
 
 Xn many parts of the United States the swamps 
 and wet meadows, which have been converted into 
 mowing lands, are peculiarly marked in the early 
 part of spring by two species of plants. These 
 are the Ictodes foetidus already described (PI. 
 xxiv) and Veratrum viride, usually denominated 
 Poke root and Hellebore. Both of these plants 
 spring up more rapidly than the grass around 
 them, and from the largeness and bright green 
 colour of their leaves they are often the most no- 
 ticeable objects in the places of their growth. As 
 the season advances, the Ictodes continues only a 
 tuft of radical leaves, while the Veratrum sends 
 up a straight leafy stalk, which frequently acquires 
 
 the full height of a man, 
 16 
 
ISS TERATRUM VIRIDE. 
 
 This plant is not only found in boggy mead- 
 ows, but by the sides of brooks in rocky and 
 mountainous situations, from Canada to Carolina* 
 Its flowering time is from May to July. 
 
 •The Vevatrum album or White Hellebore, a 
 well known medicinal plant found in most coun- 
 tries of Europe, has a very close resemblance to 
 the American species. It is, however, a smooth- 
 er plant, and differs somewhat in its flowers, 
 bractes and stalks. .iiroqcnoo m baJiidi'il 
 
 > "S^<iThe genus Veratrum, on account of the diver- 
 sity of its flowers, was placed by Linnseus in his 
 class Polygamia and order Monoed/i. Those more 
 recent botanists, who omit this class, have trans- 
 ferred the genus to Hea^andria trigynicuj^miii ¥M 
 KiThe generic character of Veratrum consists 
 in a siac-parted corolla without calysc. Stamens 
 inserted in the receptacle. Capsules three, many 
 seeded, A part of the flowers barren. The spe- 
 cies mride has a downy panicle with the partial 
 hractes longer than their pedicels. Segments of 
 ,^ihe corolla thickened on the inside at base, rjr ii* 
 >^i>$ nThe root of this plant is thick and fleshy. Its 
 ^gupper portion tunicated, its lower half solid and 
 i>scndLng forth a multitude of large whitish radi* 
 cles. The stem is from three to five feet high, 
 roimdisli. solid, striated and pubescent. Through- 
 
AMERICAN HELLEBORE. 12^ 
 
 out the greater part of its length it is closely in- 
 vested with the sheathiilg bases of the leaves. 
 The lower leaves are large, from half a foot to a 
 foot long, oval, acuminate, pubescent, strongly 
 plaited and nerved ; the lower part of their edges 
 meeting round the stem. The upper leaves be- 
 come gradually narrower and the uppermost, 
 which perform the office of bractes, are linear- 
 lanceolate. The flowers are numerous and dis- 
 tributed in compound racemes axillary from the 
 upper leaves, and terminal ; the whole forming a 
 sort of panicle. Peduncles roundish, downy. 
 Bractes boat-shaped, acuminate, downy. The pe- 
 dicel of each flower is many times shorter than 
 its bracte. Calyx none. Corolla divided into six 
 green, oval, acute, nerved segments, of which the 
 alternate ones are longest. All the segments are 
 contracted at base into a sort of claw with a thick- 
 ened or cartilaginous edge. Stamens six with 
 recurved filaments and roundish, two-lobed an- 
 thers. Germs three, cohering, with acute recurv- 
 ed 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. 
 The seed vessel consists of three capsules united 
 together, separating at top and opening on their 
 inner side. Seeds flat imbricated. 
 
124 VERATRUM VIRIDE. 
 
 The root of the Veratrum has a bitter taste 
 accompanied with acrimony, and leaves a durable 
 impression on the mouth and fauces when it has 
 been chewed or swallowed. It abounds with a 
 resinous juice, which adheres closely to a knife 
 with which the root has been cut. This resin 
 dissolves abundantly in alcohol. When water is 
 added to the solution, a white turbidness gradu- 
 ally appeal's rendering the liquid opaque, but with- 
 out sediment. The decoction has an intensely 
 bitter taste. It is not rendered turbid by alcohol 
 although some slight flocculi are separated after 
 standing. It is probable that this bitterness re- 
 sides in an extractive principle. The distilled 
 water of the root has a slightly unpleasant taste, 
 without bitterness or pungency. 
 
 This plant in its medicinal powers resembles 
 the Veratrum album or White hellebore of Eu- 
 rope. It is an acrid emetic and a powerful stim- 
 ulant, followed by sedative effects. As a medicine 
 or as a poisonous plant, it has been known from 
 an early period. The aborigines of the country 
 were fully apprized of its activity. Josselyn in 
 his voyage to New England, which took place not 
 long after the first settlement of the country, in- 
 forms us that the young Indians had a custom of 
 electing their chiefs by a sort of ordeal instituted 
 
AMERICAN HELLEBORE, 1^5 
 
 with the roots of this plant, which he denominates 
 " white hellebore." A portion of this root was 
 repeatedly given to each individual, and he whose 
 stomach made the most vigorous resistance or 
 soonest recovered from its eifects was considered 
 the stoutest of the party and entitled to command 
 the rest. 
 
 Kalm tells us that the people of this country, 
 at the time of his travels, employed a decoction of 
 this plant externally in the cure of scorbutic af- 
 fections, and for the destruction of vermin. He 
 further states, that corn before planting was soak- 
 ed in a strong decoction of the Veratrum to protect 
 it against the birds which infest our fields and 
 devour the grain after it is deposited in the 
 ground. When the corn is thus prepared, it is 
 observed, that those birds which swallow it be- 
 come giddy and fall to the ground, an example, 
 the writer informs us, which has the effect to 
 frighten the remainder of the tribe away from the 
 place. 
 
 Since the celebrity acquired bv the European 
 white hellebore as a remedy for gout, that plant 
 being for a time supposed the basis of the cele- 
 brated Eau medicinale ; the attention of some 
 practitioners has been turned to investigating the 
 properties of the American plant, which so close- 
 
1^6 VERAI^RUM VIRIDE. 
 
 ly resembles the Veratrum album in its external 
 habitudes. The result of such trials as have been 
 made, establishes beyound a doubt the medicinal 
 similarity of these two vegetables. I have em- 
 ployed the American plant in dispensary practice 
 la<the treatment of obstinate cases of chronic 
 rheumatism. Other practitioners have applied it 
 to the treatment of gout, and of cutaneous and oth- 
 er affections. From the sum of my observations 
 and knowledge respecting it, I am satisfied that 
 the root, when not impaired by long exposure and 
 age, is in sufiB.cient doses a strong emetic, com- 
 mencing its operation tardily, but continuing in 
 many instances for a long time ; in large doses 
 affecting the functions of the brain and nervous 
 system in a powerful manner, producing giddi- 
 ness, impaired vision, prostration of strength and 
 diminution of the vital powers. Like the Vera- 
 trum album and Colchicum antunmale, the violent 
 impression which it makes upon the system has 
 arrested the paroxysms of gout and given relief in 
 some unyielding cases of protracted rheumatism. 
 Like those substances, it requires to be given with 
 great caution and under vigilant restrictions. The 
 solutions of this article have appeared to me more 
 powerful in proportion to their quantity than the 
 substance, probably in consequence of a part of 
 
AMERICAN HELLEBORE, 1^7 
 
 the powder being thrown out in the first efforts to 
 vomit, before a perfect solution of its active parts 
 in the stomach could have taken place. 
 
 A course of experiments with this article was 
 made sometime since in the Boston Almshouse 
 by Dr. John Ware, the results of which he has 
 obligingly communicated to me. They cannot be 
 better stated than in his own words. 
 
 "I gave this plant," says he, '• in the first place 
 with a view to ascertain its action on the stomach 
 and alimentary canal. The doses in which it was 
 administered amounted to from two to ten trains. 
 I began with a small quantity, and increased it 
 very gradually in order to guard against the oc- 
 currence of those violent and dangerous effects 
 which I had been led to apprehend from the de- 
 scriptions given of the operation of the w hite helle- 
 bore. A slight and general account of the ex- 
 periments will give the most satisfactory view of 
 the effects of this root as an emeticivv Aiui^Gii'iipiu 
 
 "It was administered in about thirty cases. In 
 the first case two grains were given ; this only 
 produced slight and temporary nausea, jj j-iu 
 
 " J?i three instances three grains were admin- 
 istered ; in two of thege vomiting was produced ; 
 in one of them to a considerable degree — in the 
 other slight — in the third no effect whatever wa^ 
 
1S8 VERATIIUM TIRIDE. 
 
 produced. — Of gr. iv. Four doses, of which only 
 one operated, and then the operation was incon- 
 siderable. — Ofgr, vi. Fifteen doses were given — 
 ten of these operated perfectly well ; as complete 
 and thorough vomiting was produced as follows 
 from the case of any oth^r emetics — in the elev- 
 enth case nausea only ensued^ — and in the re- 
 maining-, no effect whatever was perceived- — Of 
 gi\ viii. Four doses — of these, two failed entire- 
 ly and two operated satisfactorily. — Of. gr. x. On- 
 ly one dose was given — this operated very thor- 
 oughly. 
 
 "I did not find, as I had expected, that this 
 substance was uncommonly violent or distressing 
 in its operation. Patients, in general, did not 
 complain of any thing unusual, and when they 
 were particularly questioned as to their sensa- 
 tions, they told of nothing more than those usual- 
 ly occurring during the effects of a brisk emetic. 
 It seemed to produce vomiting rather more se- 
 verely than an ordinary dose of ipecac— but not 
 more than one of antimony. Indeed, its opera- 
 tion may fairly be said to be about as violent and 
 distressing as that of any other emetic whose ef- 
 fects in evacuating the stomach are equally thor- 
 ough. In a few instances, however, there was a 
 complaint of very violent and painful retching — 
 
AMERICAN HELLEBORE. iS9 
 
 aiid of dizziness at the time and for a short time 
 
 aftei^— still these effects were not common nor ex- 
 cessive -'»'^^^'**' ^"■*^''»t* ii'^^'itU'^. "iCV— ■=.'>ldfc■'S'>L»i■:: 
 " " As to its influence as an emetic upon diseased 
 states of the system, there were few opportuni- 
 ties of administering it where any considerable def- 
 rangement existed. In those cases which did oc-. 
 cur it did not appear to be inferior to the common 
 emetics. 
 
 '' ' '• The degree of operation did not seem to be 
 much increased by the increase of the dose of the 
 medicine. Doses of six grains appeared, when 
 they took effect, to produce vomiting as thorough 
 and complete, as that which followed from larger 
 doses j except that the larger were perhaps more 
 speedy in operating. [ could find no cause for 
 the failure of so many of those cases in which the 
 dose amounted to six or eight grains, except an 
 insensibility in the patient to the stimulus of the 
 medicine ; and this was rendered more probable 
 from the circumstance that generally in those in- 
 stances, the substance failed in producing any ef- 
 fect whatever ; nausea did not often occur when 
 vomiting was not to follow it, and in no instance 
 was it very clear that purging was produced. 
 
 "Indeed this appeared to be rather a singulaj? 
 circumstance relating to this substance, and one 
 
130 VERATRUM VIRIDE. 
 
 in which it diflers from most or all other emetics* 
 These articles, when they fail of producing vomit- 
 ing, generally occasion a determination down- 
 wards, and thus produce all the phenomena of ca- 
 thartic medicines. This effect is also frequently 
 produced when they have operated in their pecu- 
 liar way. But in no instance did this appear to 
 he the case with the Hellebore. Some patients, 
 indeed, said that it operated upon them by stool 
 very slightly — but on strict inquiry I did not 
 think that the medicine had had any effect in this 
 way, and that what was told me proceeded from a 
 desire in the persons to attribute some sort of ef- 
 fect to what had been given them. 
 
 "In the greater number of the cases, the Helle- 
 bore was longer before it produced vomiting than 
 is the case generally with other emetics. It did 
 not often operate in less than three quarters of an 
 hour or an hour — but sometimes the interval was 
 extended to two or three hours — and in one case, 
 although the dose was administered at twelve at 
 noon, its effects were not produced until between 
 nine and ten o'clock in the evening. This tardi- 
 ness in manifesting its effects on the system cor- 
 responds with what has been observed with re- 
 spect to the European species. 
 
AMERICiLN HELLEBOPtE. 131 
 
 " I made a few experiments with the powder of 
 the Veratrum album in order to compare its pow- 
 ers with those which existed in om* native species. 
 It was given in six cases — of two doses of three 
 grains — neither produced any effect — ane of four 
 was not more effectual — six grains produced some 
 vomiting, but not to any considerable extent — seven 
 no effect whatever — and eight produced in about 
 four hours after taking it considerable effect. If 
 these experiments are to be depended upon, the 
 foreign certainly is not more powerful than the 
 native species. 
 
 " I endeavoured next to ascertain what degree 
 of power the Hellebore was possessed of over cu- 
 taneous diseases. It has the reputation in the 
 country of some efficacy in these complaints. The 
 ointment and decoction were applied in a number 
 of cases, and it certainly proved to be an applica- 
 tion of considerable power. Its effects in some 
 cases amounted to a removal of the disease en- 
 tirely — and in most, some diminution of it fol- 
 lowed, which was more or less durable. 
 
 "In one case where there was an eruption about 
 the wrists and other parts of the body, supposed 
 to be the itch — the ointment (made by simmering 
 together a dram of Hellebore in an ounce of lard) 
 after being applied for some time, removed the 
 
13S VERATRUM VIRIIIE, 
 
 disease. The cure, however, was protracted and 
 tedious. 
 
 iiii^ A second case was that of a hoy who had on 
 the hack of his head, what appeared to he the com- 
 mencement of Tinea capitis. The ointment made 
 in the same way as that before mentioned, except 
 that simmering was omitted, removed it in the 
 course of a fortnight. It returned again in the 
 course of a few weeks and was again destroyed by 
 the same application. It did not recur so long 
 as I had an opportunity of observing the child, 
 which was, however, not long. 
 
 "In one clear case of itch, the ointment failed 
 of producing any beneficial effect, and it was ne- 
 cessary to have recourse to the usual remedy. 
 
 " An instance of a very troublesome and irritat- 
 ing eruption upon the hands and fingers, accom- 
 panied by a venereal taint of the system, was very 
 much relieved by this ointment. Its final remov- 
 al, however, could not be attributed to this, since 
 the patient was under the influence of mercury at 
 the same time. 
 
 " In some other cases both the ointment and 
 decoction were used with success for a time, but 
 the effects they produced wei;e only partial and 
 temporary.". it :...iU 
 
AMERICAN HELLEBORE. 133 
 
 Of the power of this plant to relieve the formi- 
 dahle disease of gout, we have the most satisfac- 
 tory evidence. A composition Intended to imi- 
 tate the celebrated Eau medicinale was prepared 
 in England by Mr. Moore from the wine of white 
 hellebore and wine of opium in the proportion of 
 three parts of the former to one of the latter. 
 This compound was used by many arthritic pa- 
 tients both in Europe and America with great 
 success in relieving the paroxysms of the disease. 
 In Boston a considerable number of individuals 
 have been induced to make trial of the remedy, 
 and generally with advantage. But I am inform- 
 ed by several of our most repectable apotheca- 
 ries, that for a long time, especially during the 
 late war, when the white hellebore could not be 
 obtained from Europe, the American plant was 
 used in the preparation of the medicine upon 
 the supposition of its being the same with the 
 European. Various gouty patients made use of 
 it, and no difference was perceived hy them or 
 their physicians in its mode of operation or effect 
 upon the disease. Some were relieved by small 
 doses, which did not even nauseate, such as fifteen 
 or twenty drops, repeated if necessary. Others 
 found a drachm of the mixture necessary, which 
 quantity affected them unpleasantly by vomiting 
 
13.4 VERATRUM YIRIDE. 
 
 or otherwise. Some experienced such severe ef- 
 fects as to deter them after one trial from a repe- 
 tition of the experiment. In general the parox- 
 ysm of gout was completely suspended hy the op- 
 eration of the medicine. 
 
 On the whole, we liave sufficient knowledge of 
 the American green hellebore, to feel assured 
 that it is a plant of great activity, closely resem- 
 bling in its properties the Veratrum album of 
 Europe ; and that like that plant it has given re- 
 lief in the paroxysms of gout and in rheumatism. 
 Whether the original Eaii medicinale he a prep- 
 aration of Veratrum, Colchicum, or any other ac- 
 rid narcotic, it is not of consequence here to de- 
 cide. These plants, with several others that 
 might be mentioned, are similar in theii* operation, 
 and probably influence the system when under 
 disease, much in the same way. Some individu- 
 als obtain relief from moderate doses, which do 
 not occasion nausea or any very disagreeable ef- 
 fects. Otliers have not derived benefit except 
 from such quantities as bring on vomiting. Some 
 have experienced very distressing consequences, 
 such as excessive sickness, purging, great pros- 
 tration of strength, impaired vision, and even 
 total insensibility, where the dose has been im- 
 prudently large. 
 
AMERICAN HELLEBORE. 135 
 
 The wine of green hellebore is prepared like 
 that of the 'vhite, by iniusing for ten days eight 
 ounces of the sliced root, in two pints and an 
 half of Spanish white wine. Before being givenj 
 in gout, it is combined with one fourth part its 
 quantity of wine of opium. Of this compound 
 the dose varies from twenty drops to a drachm. 
 
 From some observations made by Sir Everard 
 Home respecting the wine of Colchicum autum- 
 nale, it is probable that the wine of Yeratrum 
 may be less violent in its effects, if freed from the 
 sediment which it deposits by standing. 
 
 Of the substance of the root freshly powdered, 
 from two to six grains will be found a sufficient 
 dose. For medicinal use, however, in most cases 
 it is probable that tlie liquid preparation above 
 described promises more. 
 
 The external application of the ointment and 
 decoction sometimes produces the same effect on 
 the stomach as the internal use of the plant. In 
 one instance a patient was nauseated and vomit- 
 ing brought on by the ointment applied to an 
 ulcer of the leg. I have known similar conse- 
 quences from a strong decoction in cutaneous af- 
 fections. Might the topical application of this 
 plant be of any service in gout ? 
 
136 YERATRUM VIRli>E. 
 
 BOTANICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 Veratrum viiide, Aiton, Kew. iii. 422. — ^Whldenow, S^^ 
 pi. iv. 896. — PuRSH, i. 242. — Rees* Cyclopedia, ad. verb. — ^Ve- 
 ratrum album, MiCHAux, ii. 249.— Helonias viridis, Bot. Mag. 
 1096. 
 
 MEDICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 K.A1M, travds, ii. 91. — Josseitbt, Voyage to Mew Englandi, 
 f. 60. — Thacher, JW Eng. Journal, 
 
 PLATE XXXII. 
 
 Fig. 1. Leaf and Jlowers of Veratrum viride. 
 
 Fig. 2. Petal magnified. 
 
 Fig. 3, Stamens. 
 
 Fig. 4. Fistils. 
 
 Fig. 5. Capsule. 
 
 Fig. 6. Section of the capsule, showing the seeds. 
 
 Fig. 7. A seed. 
 
yv, . j'.nryi 
 
 C/e/i/^<i^//^^ ^i^/i^/^ 
 
GENTIANA CATESB.EI. 
 
 Blue Gentian, 
 
 PLATE XXXIV. 
 
 J. am. indebted to the late Dr. Macbride, of 
 Charleston, S. C. for my specimens of this me- 
 dicinal plant, and for a quantity of its root in 
 preservation. Many of the perennial species of 
 Gentian have a great degree of bitterness in the 
 root, and among these the Gentiana lutea^ or com- 
 mon imported Gentian of the shops, stands pre- 
 eminent. Of the American species, several bear 
 great resemblance in taste and effect to the Euro- 
 pean plant, ^o one, however, which I have ex- 
 amined approaches so near to the officinal root in 
 bitterness, as the species which is the subject of 
 this article. This species was formerly con- 
 founded with the Gentiana saponaria, a fine au- 
 tumnal plant, common in the Northern and Mid- 
 18 
 
138 GENTIANA CATESBJEI. 
 
 die States. It differs widely, however, from that 
 species in the size of its leaves, the length of its 
 calyx, the open mouth of its corolla and shape of 
 its segments. An imperfect figm'e of this plant, 
 published by Catesby sixty years ago, has been 
 quoted by subsequent botanists as belonging to 
 O. Saponaria. It has now been very properly 
 tlistinguished by Walter and Elliott, who have ap- 
 plied to the new species the name of its earliest 
 delineator. 
 
 The genus Gentiana has a monopetaloiis corol- 
 la; a capsule one-celled and two-valved, with two 
 longitudinal receptacles. The species Catesbwi 
 has a rough stem ; leaves ovate-lanceolate ; seg- 
 ments of the calyx longer than the tube ; mouth of 
 the corolla open, its outer segments subacute, in- 
 ner segments bifid and fimbriate. 
 
 This genus is placed by Linnseus in his class 
 and order Pentandria, Bigynia. A part of the 
 species, however, depart from the character of 
 this class, and constitute one of those instances in 
 which the general rules of the arrangement are 
 violated, that apparently natural genera may not 
 be divided. A part of the Oentians have five sta- 
 mens and a five-cleft corolla ; others have four 
 stamens and a four-cleft corolla ; others have a 
 still different number. Yet so uniform is the 
 
BLUE GENTIAN. 139 
 
 structure of the fruit, and so great the apparent 
 affinity of the plants, that botanists have hitherto 
 kept the genus entire, even though the variety of 
 form as well as of number in the calyx, corolla, 
 and stamens might perhaps justify a subdivision. 
 
 This genus belongs to tlie natural order JRo- 
 tacece of Linnseus, and to Jussieu's Gentiance. 
 
 The Gentiana Catesbsei has a branching and 
 somewhat fleshy root. Stem simple, erect, rough. 
 Leaves opposite, ovate or lanceolate, slightly 
 three-nerved, acute, rough on the margin. Flow- 
 ers* crowded, nearly sessile, axillary and terminaL 
 Segments of the calyx linear-lanceolate, varying 
 in length, exceeding the tube and sometimes 
 more than twice its length. Corolla large, blue, 
 ventricase, plaited ; its border ten-cleft, the five 
 outer segments roundish and more or less acute, 
 the five inner bifid and fimbriate. Stamens five, 
 with dilated filaments and sagittate antherso 
 Germ oblong-lanceolate, compressed, supported 
 by a sort of pedicel. Style none, stigmas two, 
 oblong, reflexed. Capsule oblong, acuminate,^ 
 one-celled, two-valved. 
 
 The dried root of this vegetable has at first 
 a mucilaginous and sweetish taste, which is soon 
 succeeded by an intense bitter, approacliing near- 
 ly to that of the officinal gentian. This quality 
 
 0^ 
 
145 GllNTIANA CATESB^I. 
 
 appears to reside in a bitter extractive principle, 
 soluble in botb alcohol and water. A little resin 
 is developed by the pearly appearance which the 
 tincture assumes on the addition of water. The 
 decoction, however, is nearly equal in bitterness 
 to the tincture, and both these solutions exhibit 
 this property much more powerfully than the 
 root in substance. 'No astringency appears in 
 this root, and nothing remarkable in the distilled 
 water. 
 
 I have found the root of this plant in a variety 
 of instances in which I have used it, to resemble 
 very nearly the imported Gentian in its proper- 
 ties, being but little inferior to it in strength or 
 efficacy. Like that substance it invigorates the 
 stomach and gives relief in complaints arising 
 from indigestion. Dr. Macbride, at whose sug- 
 gestion I first employed it, entertained a high 
 opinion of its tonic power in cases of debility of 
 the stomach and digestive organs. 
 
 In Mr. Elliott's Botany of the Southern States, 
 we are told, that in the form of a decoction it is 
 used with decided advantage in cases of pneumon- 
 ic, where the fever is nervous, and that it acts as 
 a tonic and sudorific. A tincture of it is esteem- 
 ed as a remedy in dyspepsia, given in doses of one 
 fourth or half an ounce. It is said to increase 
 
BLUE GENTIAN. 141 
 
 the appetite, prevent the acidification of the food, 
 and to enable the stomach to bear and digest ar- 
 ticles of diet, which before produced oppression 
 and dejection of spirits. 
 
 BOTANICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 Gentiana Catesbsei, Waiter, Flora Carol, p. 109. — Elli- 
 ott, Botany of the Southern States, i. 340. 
 
 MEDICAL REFERENCE. 
 Elliott, loc. cit. 
 
 PLATE XXXIV. 
 
 Fig. 1. Gentiana Catesbcei. 
 
 Fig. 2. A fiower with the corolla drawn open to show the 
 
 inner plicce. 
 Fig. 3. Stamens and pistil in their natural situation. 
 Fig. 4. Stamens separate. 
 Fig. 5. FistiL 
 
LAURUS SASSAFRAS, 
 Sassafras Tree. 
 
 PLATE XXXV, 
 
 AoiosT every section of the United States 
 ^produces the Sassafras tree. It not only inhab- 
 its every latitude from New England to Florida, 
 but we are told it is also found in the forests of 
 Mexico and even of Brazil. Its peculiar foliage 
 and the spicy qualities of its bark render it a 
 prominent object of notice, and it seems to have 
 been one of the earliest trees of the North Amer- 
 ican continent to attract the attention of Europe- 
 ans. Its character as an article of medicine was 
 at one time so high, that it commanded an extrava- 
 gant price, and treatises were written to celebrate 
 its virtues. It still retains a place in the best 
 European Pharmacopseias. 
 
jSanin fe SmUA. Xe- 
 
SASSAFRAS TREE. 143 
 
 The genus of trees and shrubs known bj the 
 Hame of Laurus comprises many of the most use- 
 ful as well as celebrated products of the vegeta- 
 ble world. The Bay tree or Laurel of the an- 
 cients, the Cinnamon tree. Cassia tree, Camphor 
 tree, and Avocado pear, are either of them suffi- 
 cient to give notoriety to the genus to which they 
 belong. This genus has a cahj3c of from four to 
 side divisions ,- nectary of three bisetose glands, or 
 wanting ; stamens variable in number ; fruit a 
 drupe ; flowers often polygamous. The species 
 Sassafras is polygamous, with leaves entire and 
 lobed. 
 
 The Laurels constitute one of the few genera 
 assigned by Linnseus to his class Enneandria, to 
 the first order of which they belong. Jussieu 
 has placed them with his Lauri, to which they 
 give name. The propriety witli which they have 
 been associated with the Linnsean natural order 
 Oleracece is of a very questionable nature. 
 
 The Sassafras tree, of the United State, ar- 
 rives, in favourable situations, to a tall stature and 
 large circumference. In the Northern States, it 
 is of smaller size, yet trees are sometimes met 
 with about Boston which attain to nearly the 
 average height of the woods around them, and 
 have trunks a foot in thickness. The bark of the 
 
144 LAURUS SASSAFRAS. 
 
 trunk is mucli cracked and of a greyish colour ; 
 tlie young twigs are of a reddish green. The 
 leaves are remarkable for the variety of their form 
 on the same tree. Those which proceed first 
 from the bud are usually oval and entire ; the 
 next have the same form with a lobe on one side f 
 the last and most numerous have regularly three 
 lobes. They grow on petioles, and are very 
 downy when young, but become smoother by age. 
 The flowers grow from the sides of the branches 
 below the leaves, having the scales of the former 
 bud for their floral leaves. They are disposed in 
 short slender racemes of a pale green colour, each 
 flower having six oblong segments. Different 
 trees produce barren and perfect flowers. The 
 barren flowers have nine stamens, six of which 
 are exterior and three interior. The perfect flow- 
 ers, the kind represented in our plate, have only 
 six stamens, with short filaments and heart-shap- 
 ed anthers. N^ectary none. Germ roundish with 
 a straight, erect style. Fruit an oval drupe of a 
 deep blue colour, supported by a red incras sated 
 pedicel. Only a small number of the trees pro- 
 duce fruit. 
 
 The bark of this tree has a fmgrant smell 
 and a very agreeable spicy taste. The flavour of 
 the root is most powerful, that of the branches 
 
SASSAFRAS TREE. 145 
 
 more pleasant. The flavour and odour reside in 
 a volatile oil which is readily obtained from the 
 bark bj distillation. It is of a light colour, be- 
 coming darker by age, very pungent, and heavier 
 than water, so that it sinks in that fluid when the 
 drops are sufficiently large to overcome thie re- 
 pulsion at the surface. The bark and pith of the 
 young twigs abound with a pure and delicate mu- 
 cilage. A very small quantity of the pith infused 
 in a glass of water gives to the whole a ropy con- 
 sistance, like the white of an eg^. This mucilage 
 has the uncommon quality that it is not precipi- 
 tated, coagulated, or rendered turbid by alcohol. 
 It continues in a perfectly transparent state when 
 mixed with that fluid, though it does not unite 
 with it. When evaporated to dryness, it leaves a 
 light coloured, gum-like residuum. 
 
 The volatile oil and the mucilage appear to 
 contain all the medicinal virtue of the tree. 
 
 The bark and wood of the Sassafras were 
 formerly much celebrated in the cure of various 
 complaints, particularly syphilis, rheumatism and 
 dropsy. Its reputation, however, as a specific in 
 those diseases, particularly the first, has fallen 
 into deserved oblivion, while it is now recognized 
 only with regard to its general properties, which 
 are those of a warm stimulant and diaphoretic. 
 19 
 
146 LAURUS SASSAFRAS. 
 
 It is retained by the Dispensatories as an ingre- 
 dient in several preparations, particularly the 
 compound decoction of guaiacum, formerly called 
 " decoction of the woods ;'' and the compound 
 decoction of Sarsaparilla, formerly the "Lisbon 
 diet drink.'' These preparations are useful as 
 sudoriiSLCs in rheumatism, some cutaneous diseas- 
 es, and the sequelse of syphilis. They derive, 
 however, more of their efficacy from their other 
 ingredients, than from the Sassafras, a principal 
 part of the efficacy of which is dissipated by boil- 
 ing. 
 
 The most proper mode of employing the Sas- 
 safras is in the form of its volatile oil, which may 
 be given in very small quantities as an antispas- 
 modic, stimulant and sudorific. It is too acrid to 
 be taken unmixed, and should therefore be dis- 
 solved in spirit and mixed with water or syrup. 
 
 The mucilage of the pith of this tree is pe- 
 culiarly mild and lubricating, and has been used 
 with much benefit in dysentery, and in catarrhal, 
 as well as calculous affiictions. Some eminent 
 surgeons have employed it as a lotion in the most 
 inflammatory stages of ophthalmia, to which its 
 softness renders it extremely well suited. 
 
 The wood of the Sassafras tree is of a light 
 texture, but is said to be durable when exposed 
 
SASSAFRAS TREE* i47 
 
 to the weather. It has been thought capable of 
 repelling insects by its odour, and on this ac- 
 count has been employed for trunks, bedsteads, 
 ^c. A property of this kind, however, is wrongly 
 attributed to it, since the wood retains scarcely 
 any odour after a few months drying. 
 
 BOTANICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 Laurus Sassafras, Llnn. Sp.pl. — Puksh, i. 277. — Nuttaii,, 
 i. 259. — ^WooDvrLLE, iv. t. 234. — Michaux, fil. drbres fores- 
 tiers, iii. 173. — Laurus foliis integris, trilobisve. — Teew, Ehr. 
 
 t, 69, 70. — Cornus mas odorata, &c. — PiuKEHfET, *&lm, 120, t. 
 222. — Catesbt, Car. i. t. 55. 
 
 MEDICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 MuERAT, .Apparatus, iv. 555. — Kalm, travels , ii. — Hoitman 
 Obs. Phys. Cliem. 31. — Culxen", Mat. Med. ii. 200. — Clayton-, 
 Phil. Trans. Mr. viii. 332. — Bremane, Sassafrasologia in 1627. 
 
 PLATE XXXV. 
 
 Fig. 1. Laurus Sassafras, a branch xvith perfect flowers of 
 
 the natural size. 
 Fig. 2. Jl stamen magiiified. 
 Fig. 3. Pistil, ditto. 
 Fig. 4. Fruit. 
 
APOCYNUM ANDROSJEMIFOLIUM 
 
 JDog^s Bane. 
 
 PLATE XXXVL 
 
 A HIS is a brandling perennial plant, found 
 from Canada to Carolina about the sides offences 
 and the borders of woods. It has a peculiarly 
 neat aspect derived from its smoothness, its leaf- 
 less and coloured stalk, busliy top and delicate 
 flowers. Like tlie other American species, it is 
 a lactescent plant, with a fibrous bark. It attains 
 its flowering period in June and Julj. 
 
 The genus Apocynum has a hell-shaped co- 
 rolla ; a nectary of Jive corpuscles surrounding 
 the germ ; anthers adhering to the stigma by the 
 middle ; follicles ttvo ; seeds with down. 
 
 The present species is glabrous, its stem erect 
 and branching ; cymes lateral and terminal; co- 
 rolla spreading. 
 
J'l. XXXVI. 
 
 ^t>y?2/€^n' a 
 
 ^t^a^Vifia^nuj/v^um/ 
 
 Annin 8c Smitfi, Sc. 
 
dog's bane. 149 
 
 Class Pentantlria, order Digynia ; natural or- 
 ders Contortce, Linnseus ; Jipocinew, Jussieu. 
 
 The Apocynum Andros^mifoliura grows often 
 to the height of five or six feet, though its com- 
 mon elevation is three or four. Its stalk is 
 smooth, simple below, branching repeatedly at 
 top, red on the side exposed to the sun. Leaves 
 opposite, smooth on both sides, paler beneath, 
 ovate, acute, on short petioles. The flowers grow 
 in nodding cymes from the ends of the branches 
 and axils of the upper leaves, furnished with mi- 
 nute acute bractes. Calyx five-cleft, acute, much 
 shorter than the corolla. Corolla white tinged 
 with red, monopetalous, campanulate, with five 
 acute, spreading segments. Stamens five, with 
 very short filaments, and connivent, oblong arrow- 
 shaped anthers, cohering with the stigma about 
 their middle. Tlie nectary consists of five ob- 
 long glandular bodies alternating with the sta- 
 mens. Germs two, ovate, concealed by the an- 
 thers. Stigma thick, roundish, agglutinated to 
 the anthers. The fruit is a pair of slender linear- 
 lanceolate follicles, containing numerous imbri- 
 cated seeds each crowned with a long pappus or 
 down, and attached to a slender central recep- 
 tacle. 
 
150 APOCYNUM ANDROS^MIFOLIUai. 
 
 Every part of the Apocynum when wounded 
 emits copiously a milky juice. When chewed, 
 the root communicates an unpleasant and in- 
 tensely bitter taste. It exhibits, when dry, the 
 following chemical phsenomena.— -If a solution in 
 ether be mixed with alcohol, the alcohol, though 
 not turbid at first, becomes so when the ether 
 evaporates. An aqueous infusion or decoction is 
 of a deep red colour and intensely bitter. A so- 
 lution in alcohol is nearly destitute of colour, but 
 retains the whole bitterness of the plant, and is 
 not disturbed by the addition of water. When 
 submitted to distillation a slight oily film floats on 
 the surface of water in the receiver. — From these 
 facts we may conclude that the Apocynum con- 
 tains, 1. A bitter extractive principle. 3. A col- 
 ouring principle soluble in water and not in al- 
 cohol. 3. Caoutchouc. 4. A volatile oil. 
 
 In various parts of the Eastern States this 
 plant has been shewn to me by country practi- 
 tioners under the name of Ipecac. This name 
 is applied to it from its power of acting on the 
 stomach in the same manner as the Brazilian 
 emetic. Several physicians, among whom is Dr. 
 RicTiardson of Medway, inform me that they have 
 found about thirty grains of the root to evacuate 
 the contents of the stomach as efiectually as two 
 
dog's bane. 151 
 
 thirds the quantity of Ipecacuanha. In my own 
 trials it has appeared to me much less powerful 
 than the latter substance, and although it produces 
 vomiting, yet this power is diminished by keeping, 
 and appears to be eventually destroyed by age. 
 When used for the purpose of an emetic, the re- 
 cently powdered root should be employed. 
 
 The sensible and chemical qualities of this 
 root seem to promise a good effect when given in 
 small doses as a tonic medicine to the stomach. 
 My observations on this subject may hereafter be 
 more mature. (See Appendix.) We have certain- 
 ly very few indigenous vegetables which exceed 
 the Apocynum in bitterness. Perhaps its emetic 
 property when given in large doses may be owing 
 to this quality. Most bitter vegetables produce 
 vomiting when administered in large quantities. 
 
 Kalm observes in his travels in North Ameri- 
 ca, that in some parts of the country tliis plant 
 was suspected of poisonous properties like those 
 of the Rhus vernix. The country people inform- 
 ed him that the milky juice rubbed on the hands 
 produced blistering in many persons, and that 
 some were affected in the same way even by the 
 effluvium of the plant. — -I know of no other au- 
 thority than that stated above for the existence of 
 .such a property in the Apocynum. The plant is 
 
15S APOCYNUM ANDROSiEMIFOLIUM. 
 
 common and well known in Massachusetts, Yet 
 I have never heard it suspected of deleterious 
 
 properties. 
 
 The flowers of the Apocynum have a power 
 of catching flies and small insects which was as- 
 cribed by Dr. Darwin to an irritability in the in- 
 ternal organs. Mr. Curtis in the Botanical mag- 
 azine, has considered this subject at large, and 
 ascribes the property to a more rational cause. 
 In consequence of the close convergency of the 
 anthers and their adhesion to the stigma, a nar- 
 row fissure or slit exists, which becomes more 
 contracted near the top. The insect in search of 
 the honey at the bottom of the flower, inserts his 
 proboscis between the stamens into the cavity 
 within them. In extricating it from this situa- 
 tion the proboscis is sometimes caught in the fis- 
 sure, and in proportion to the efforts made by the 
 insect to 'escape it becomes more closely wedged 
 in the upper part of the slit, so that its deliverance 
 by its own powers becomes at length impractica- 
 ble. Musquitoes, gnats, and small flies are fre- 
 quently found dead in this confinement. 
 
DOG'S BANE. 
 
 153 
 
 BOTANICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 Apocynum androssemifolium, Lin. Sp, pi. — Curtis, Botani- 
 cal Magazine, t. 280. — Darwiiv, Botanic Garden^ ii. 182. — Mx- 
 €HAUX, Flora, i. 121. — PmisH, i. 179i 
 
 MEDICAL REFERENCE. 
 
 Kalm, Travels, iii. 26. 
 
 PLATE XXXVI. 
 
 T'ig. 1. Branch of Jlpocijnum androscamifolium. 
 
 Fig. 2. Fair of follicles. 
 
 Fig. 3. Cone formed of the united stamens. 
 
 Fig. 4. Stamen detached. 
 
 Fig. 5. /Si(fe view of the calyx, nectaries and germs. 
 
 Fig. 6. Fronf Tiew of the same. 
 
 Fig. 7. ,i seed. 
 
DIRCA PALUSTRIS. 
 
 Leather Wood, 
 
 FLdTE xxxrn. 
 
 X HE diversity of climate in different latitudes 
 of the United States does not prevent this shrub 
 from appearing in the most rigorously cold as 
 well as in the warmest sections of the country. 
 I have seen it growing plentifully on the hanks 
 of the Kennebec, in Maine, and Mr. Bartrani 
 found it in great vigour on the Savannah river in 
 Georgia. It is a marshy shrub frequenting low 
 woods and the vicinity of water, flowering in April 
 and May. It is commonly of humble growth, 
 though Mr. Bartram found specimens six or 
 seven feet in height. It is remarkable for the 
 flexibility of its wood and toughness of its bark, 
 which are so great that it cannot be broken with- 
 out great difficulty. The Aborigines employed 
 
LEATHER WOOD. 153 
 
 it for their cordage, and from its great tenacity 
 the name of Leather wood lias been applied to it 
 in most parts of the United States. The Canadian 
 French called it Bois de Plomb or Leaden wood 
 from its flexibility. 
 
 The generic character of Dirca consists in k 
 tubular corolla without calyx^ having its border 
 obsoletely toothed. Stamens longer than the corol- 
 la. Berry one-seeded. 
 
 The genus contains but a single species. 
 
 Class Octandria^ order Monogynia, Natural 
 orders Vepreculce, Lin. Thymelww, Juss. 
 
 The Dirca is an irregular shrub somewhat 
 distinguished by the horizontal tendency of its 
 branches and leaves. The branches have an in- 
 terrupted or jointed mode of growth. The leaves 
 are scattered or alternate, with very short petioles. 
 They are oval, entire, subacute, downy, when 
 young, smooth and membranous when fully 
 grown, and pale on the under side. The flowers 
 appear long before the leaves. Previously to 
 their emerging they exist in miniature within a 
 small hau^y bud, which occupies a sheath or cavity 
 in the end of each flowering branch. They are 
 commonly in bunches of three together with their 
 peduncles cohering. Each flower is about half 
 an inch long, of a yellow colour and without ca- 
 
156 DIRCA PALUSTRIS, 
 
 lyx. The corolla is funnel-shaped, with a con« 
 traction near the base and another in the middle, 
 its border dilated, and slightly and irregularly 
 toothed. Stamens eight, much longer than the 
 corolla, the alternate ones longest, the filaments 
 capillary and inserted into the tube ; the anthers 
 roundish. Germ ovate placed obliquely, the 
 style appearing to issue from one side. The 
 style is capillary, curved, and longer than the 
 stamens. The fruit is a small oval, acute, red, 
 one-seeded berry. 
 
 Chemically examined, the bark of this shrub 
 discovers a slightly resinous character by the 
 pearliness which its tincture assumes on admix- 
 ture with water. The decoction is somewhat 
 mucilaginous and deposits slight flocculi on the 
 addition of alcohol. Iron and gelatin produce no 
 evidence of tannin or gallic acid. The distilled 
 water has an unpleasant odour, but is void of ac- 
 rimony. * 
 
 The bark of the Dirca has a peculiar and 
 rather unpleasant taste. When swallowed, it 
 leaves a sensation of acrimony in the fauces 
 which continues for some time. If taken in the 
 quantity of six or eight grains, it produces a sense 
 of heat in the stomach and at length brings on 
 
LEATHER WOOD. 107 
 
 vomiting. This effect pretty certainly occurs if 
 the bark be recent or freshly powdered. 
 
 A variety of observations on this shrub have 
 been made by my pupil, Dr. John Locke, who 
 first called my attention to the examination of its 
 properties. He found on experiment that not 
 only the distilled water, but the decoction also 
 was void of acrimony, and that in the boiled bark 
 this property was very much diminished, though 
 still present. The watery extract had consider- 
 able bitterness, but scarcely any of the peculiar 
 acrimony of the plant. Taken in doses of a 
 drachm, it did not produce any very sensible ef- 
 fect. Alcohol without heat acquired but slight 
 sensible properties from the bark. ^N'othiug 
 came over by distillation with alcohol, but the 
 alcohol remaining in the retort had acquired the 
 acrimony. The spirituous extract procured by 
 evaporating this decoction was equal to one twen- 
 ty fourth of the bark from which it was obtained. 
 It contained the acrimony in a concentrated form, 
 producing a more powerful effect on the fauces 
 than the fresh bark. It was largely but not com- 
 pletely soluble in water. » 
 
 Dr. Locke gave the freshly dried root to various 
 patients in doses of from five to ten grains, which 
 quantity in most instances proved powerfully 
 
158 DIRCA PALUSTRIS. 
 
 emetic, and sometimes cathartic. It was found 
 to be deteriorated by keeping, and did not pro- 
 duce the same effects when very old. In conse- 
 quence of some statements which have been 
 made in regard to its vesicating properties, Dr. 
 Locke applied portions of the bark moistened with 
 vinegar to the skin of his arm. In twelve hours 
 no effect was produced, in twenty four some red- 
 ness and itching took place and in thirty a com- 
 plete vesication followed. 
 
 The fruit of the Dirca has been suspected of 
 narcotic properties. Dr. Perkins, of Hanover, 
 N. H. has communicated the case of a child 
 which had eaten these berries with effects like 
 those produced by Stramonium, such as stupor, 
 insensibility, and dilatation of the pupils. An 
 emetic brought up the berries and the child grad- 
 ually recovered. A medical student who took 
 several of the berries found that they produced 
 nausea and giddiness. 
 
 The medicinal action of the bark of the Dirca 
 probably depends on its acrid constituents, which 
 appear to be partly of a resinous and partly of a 
 volatile nature. Its properties appear somewhat 
 allied to those of Polygala senega, for which it 
 might perhaps be substituted in small quanti- 
 ties. It is best given in substance, though on ac- 
 
LEATHER WOOD. 159 
 
 count of the tenacity of its fibres it is difficult of 
 subdivision. After beating in a mortar it resem- 
 bles fine lint more than powder. Its vesicating 
 properties appear too feeble to promise much 
 utility. 
 
 I have introduced the Dirca in this place, not 
 so much because it has been yet applied to any 
 medical purpose of great importance ; but be- 
 cause it would be improper, in a work like the 
 present, to pass over unnoticed a shrub of such 
 decided activity. 
 
 BOTANICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 Dirca palustris, List. Ammnitates academiccEf iii, 1. 1. 6. 7. = 
 
 DuHAMEL, w3r&. vi. t. 212. — PuRSHji. 236. — Michaux, i. 268. 
 
 Baetram, Travels, 309. — Kaxm, Travels, ii. 148. 
 
 MEDICAL REFERENCE. 
 
 B. S. Barton, Coll, 32. 
 
 PLATE XXXVII. 
 
 Fig. 1. A branch with leaves of Dirca palusiris. 
 
 Fig. 2. A branch injlower. 
 
 Fig. 3. Fruit, 
 
 Fig. 4. Germ and shjle much magnijied. 
 
 Fig. 5. Magnified corolla, laid open. 
 
 Fig. 6, Flower magnified. 
 
UUBUS VILLOSUS. 
 
 Tall Blttckberry, 
 
 PLATE XXXVIU. 
 
 J. HE family of shrubs comprized under the 
 term Rubus, including the various species of 
 Baspherry, Blackberry, Beivberry, ^c. is exten- 
 sively diffused througliout the United States. 
 Many of them are known as troublesome bram- 
 bles, a few are unarmed, and a certain number 
 are nearly herbaceous. Some are distinguished 
 by the elegance of their flowers, and others by 
 the deliciousness of their fruit. The Rubus vil- 
 losus is one of the most common and interesting 
 species. It abounds among the brushwood of 
 neglected fields and pastures, about fences and 
 the borders of woods, from the Eastern to the 
 Southern states. Being of rapid growth, it is 
 frequently troublesome to the farmer by spread- 
 
JlTz^-tn. & Smr^t- Sc 
 
TAIiL BLACKBERRY. I6i 
 
 ing in his lands, although it offers some amends 
 for the intrusion by the abundance and fine 
 flavour of its fruit. It is commonly called tall or 
 high blackberry in distinction from the B. trivia- 
 lis or low blackberry, which it greatly resembles 
 in the quality of its fruit. It is in flower in June 
 and its fruit is ripe in August and September. 
 
 For the generic character, it has a Jive-cleft 
 calyx ; five petals ; ami a compound herry com- 
 posed of one-seeded acini* — This species is puhes- 
 cent, bristly and prickly, the leaves in threes or 
 fives, leafets ovate, acuminate, serrate, pubescent, 
 with the petioles prickly ; fiowers racemed. 
 
 Class Icosandria, order Polygynia ; natural or- 
 orders Senticosoe, Lin. Rosaceoe, Juss. 
 
 This shrub has a tall, branching, prickly 
 stem, which is more or less furrowed and angu- 
 lar. Leaves mostly in threes on a channelled, 
 hairy petiole. A few are solitary and some qui- 
 nate. Leafets ovate, acuminate, sharply and une- 
 qually serrate, covered with scattered hairs above, 
 and with a thick soft pubescence underneath. 
 The terminal leafet is pedicelled, the two side 
 ones sessile. The petiole and back of the mid- 
 dle rib are commonly armed with short recurved 
 prickles. The flowers grow in erect racemes 
 
 with a hairy, prickly stalk. The pedicels are 
 SI 
 
•0 
 
 163 RUB us VILLOSUS. 
 
 slender, an inch or two in length, covered with 
 glandular hairs and supported bj lanceolate 
 hractes. Calyx divided into five ovate, concave, 
 hairy segments ending in an acuminate point or 
 a lanceolate leafet. Petals five, white, ovate or 
 oblong, concave, contracted into a short claw at 
 hase. Stamens very numerous, with roundish 
 anthers and slender, white filaments. Germs nu- 
 merous, covering a conic central receptacle. 
 Styles capillary, arising from the sides of the 
 germs, persistent. Fruit a black, shining, com- 
 pound berry formed of pulpy acini attached to 
 the receptacle, each containing a single oblong 
 seed. 
 
 The bark of the root of this bramble is the 
 part which has been medicinally employed. It 
 is a pure and strong astringent, which property 
 it manifests both by its sensible elTects and by 
 chemical examination. When treated with the 
 sulphate of iron both the tincture and decoction 
 assume a beautiful dark purple colour and throw 
 down a copious precipitate. A precipitate also 
 takes place on the addition of gelatin, which is 
 copious, white and opaque. The alcoholic solu- 
 tion is in part decomposed by water. The sub- 
 stance precipitated does not occasion the uniform 
 turbidness which usually attends the separation 
 
TALL BLACKBERRY. 163 
 
 ©f resins, but exhibits a floctulent appearance like 
 that of congulated mucilage. These flocculi, 
 however, when collected and dried, exhibit the 
 common resinous properties on exposure to heato 
 I subjected the dried bark to distillation, but the 
 distilled water was nearly insipid, possessing only 
 a very slight flavour of the root. 
 
 1 he properties of this bark ai'e those of a very 
 powerful astringent. I have tried its operation . 
 sufficiently to become satisfied of its efficacy both 
 internally and externally used in a variety of cases 
 which admit of relief from medicines of its class. 
 It is true that our list of vegetable astringents has 
 become very numerous and the cases which re- 
 quire them are perhaps less frequent than vfas 
 formerly imagined ; yet as we continue to im- 
 port and consume various foreign medicines of 
 this kind, we ought not to exclude from attention 
 native articles of equal efficacy. Professor Chap- 
 man, of Philadelphia, expresses a very decided 
 opinion in regard to the powers of this substance. 
 " Of the vegetable astringents," says he, ''this I 
 have reason to believe is among the most active 
 and decidedly efficacious in certain cases. To 
 the declining stages of dysentery after the symp- 
 toms of active inflammation are removed, it i^ 
 well suited, though I have given it. T think, with 
 
164 IIUBUS VILLOSUS, 
 
 greater advatitage under nearly similar circum- 
 stances, in cholera infantum. To check the in- 
 ordinate evacuations which commonly attend the 
 protracted cases of this disease, no remedy has 
 ever done so much in my hands. Even two or 
 three doses will sometimes so bind the bowels 
 that purgatives became necessary. Being so 
 powerfully astringent, this medicine is useful in 
 all excessive purgings, and especially in the di- 
 arrhea of very old people, as well as when it oc- 
 curs at the close of diseases. During my atten- 
 dance in our public institutions I had abundant 
 opportunities of testing its efficacy in these cases." 
 
 The fruit of the blackberry is among the 
 most delicious productions of the uncultivated 
 forest. To an agreeable combination of sweetness 
 and acid it adds an aromatic fragrance which is 
 surpassed by few of the lighter fruits produced 
 among us. It differs in size and perfection in 
 different seasons, warm and dry summers being 
 most favourable to its perfect maturity. Our 
 markets, however, are rarely destitute of this fine 
 fruit in the months of August and September. 
 
 Some other species of Rubus are closely allied 
 to this in the qualities of their fruit and bark, 
 particularly the Miibus procumbens, commonly 
 called low or running blackberry or dewberry. 
 
TALL BLACKBERRY. 165 
 
 The fruit of this species is usually larger but 
 produced in smaller quantity from the inflores- 
 cence b^ing nearly solitary. The bark is not less 
 astringent than in the present species. 
 
 BOTANICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 Rubus villosus, Aiton, Kew, ii. 210. — ^Wiildenow, ii. 1085. 
 -MiCHATJX, i. £97. — PuESH, i. 346. 
 
 MEDICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 Chapmaw, Therapeutics and Mat, Med, ii. 474.^.Thacheii, 
 nisp. 341. 
 
 PLATE XXXVIII. 
 
 Fig. 1. Jl specimen of Rubus viUosus in Aower. 
 
 Fig. 2. Stamen. 
 
 Fig. 3. Pistils, 
 
 Fig. 4. The ripe fruit. 
 
CASSIA MARILAISBICA. 
 
 Jiniericmi Senna, 
 
 FLJiTE XXXIX, 
 
 A HIS tall and luxuriant plant is found in rich 
 soils ill the vicinity of water from New England 
 to Carolina, and westward to the banks of the 
 Missouri. The most northern situation in which 
 I have known it decidedly indigenous, is on tlie 
 banks of the Quinebaug river near the southern 
 boundary of Massachusetts. It is, liowever, cul- 
 tivated in gardens for medicinal use much further 
 to the north. It is a vigorous herbaceous peren- 
 nial with stalks four or five feet high, having 
 their summits covered in July and August with 
 brilliant yellow flowers. 
 
 The extensive genus Cassia has a five-leaved 
 calyoc and five petals ; anthers unequal, the three 
 uppermost harren, the three lowermost longer, 
 
AMERICAN SENNA. ' 167 
 
 curved and beahed. Legume two-valved.^—The 
 species Marilandica has eight or nine pairs of leaf- 
 ets, which are oblong-lanceolate, and mucronate ; 
 an obovate gland on the petiole. Bacemes axillary 
 and terminal ; legumes linear and curved. 
 
 Class Becandria, order Monogynia. Natural 
 orders Lomeniaceae, Linn. Leguminosw, Juss. 
 
 The stems, which grow in bunches and often 
 attain the height of five or six feet, are round, 
 striated, and invested with a few scattered hairs. 
 Petioles compressed, channelled above, bearing 
 from eight to ten pairs of leafets, which are ob- 
 long, smooth, somewhat hairj at the edges, pale 
 on the under side, supported by short crooked 
 pedicels, and mucronated with a rigid bristle at 
 the end. On the base of the petiole is a large 
 ovate pedicelled gland, of a shining green, ter= 
 minating in a dark point at top, which is some- 
 times double. Each petiole is also furnished with 
 a pair of linear-subulate, ciliate, deciduous stip- 
 ules. The flowers grow in axillary racemes, ex- 
 tending quite to the top of the stem. The pe- 
 duncles are slightly furrowed, pedicels supported 
 by bractes like the stipules, and marked with mi- 
 nute, blackish, glandular hairs. Leaves of the 
 calyx yellow oval, obtuse, the lateral ones longest. 
 Petals five, bright yellow, spatulate, concave, veiy 
 
168 CASSIA MARILANDICA. 
 
 obtuse, three ascending and two descending^ 
 Stamens ten with yellow filaments and brown 
 anthers. The three upper have short abortive 
 anthers. To these succeed two pairs of deflexed 
 linear anthers. The remaining three, or lower- 
 most, are much longer, crooked, and taper into a 
 sort of beak, the middle one being shortest. The 
 anthers open by a terminal pore. Germ descend- 
 ing with the lower stamens, hairy ; style ascend- 
 ing, stigma hairy, moist. The fruit consists of 
 long legumes which are pendulous linear, curved, 
 swelling at the seeds, and ftirnished with slight 
 hairs. 
 
 The predominant constituents of the leaves 
 in this plant appear to be resin extractive, and 
 a volatile matter. The tincture is of a dark brown 
 colour and is rendered extremely turbid by water. 
 The infusion and decoction have a lighter colour 
 and the peculiar taste of the plant. The dis- 
 tilled water is nauseous. It is found that both 
 the infusion and decoction answer for medicinal 
 use, yet it is probable that the tincture would be 
 more strongly operative, did not the sedative ef- 
 fects of the alcohol prove a balance for the addi- 
 tional parts of the medicine dissolved. 
 
 The Cassia Marilandica is related to the ori- 
 ental Senna in its botanical habit, and nearly re- 
 
AMERICAN SENNA. 169 
 
 senibles it in its medicinal virtues.* Neither of 
 tbese plants is to be ranked among the most ac- 
 tive cathartics, and they require to be taken in 
 much larger quantities than aloes, rhubarb or 
 
 * There is no, doubt that the true Alexandrian Senna is the 
 product of the Cassia Senna of Linnseus and of Willdenow. La- 
 marck has occasioned an unnecessary confusion on this subject, and 
 misled other botanists, bj changing the Linnasan name C. senna to 
 C. lanceolata ; while he has appropriated the name C. senna to the 
 variety /3 of Linnseus, which is the Italian senna, since very properly 
 named C. Ifalica. See Rees' Cyclopedia, Art. Cassia, &c. The 
 African plant is accounted the most active, although the Italian Sen- 
 na cultivated in Jamaica, according to Dr. Wright, proved fully- 
 equal to it in efficacy. 
 
 The greater part of the Senna consumed in the United States is 
 imported from the East Indies. Smaller quantities occasionally reach 
 us from different ports of the Mediterranean and Red seas. The 
 common India senna has a lanceolate leaf narrow and acute; pe- 
 tioles Vv'ithout glands, bearing from five to nine pairs of leaves; and 
 a flat oblong curved legume. Medicinally considered, it is one of 
 the most valuable sorts, operating with mildness and certainty. The 
 facility and cheapness with which it is obtained in India, has long 
 caused it to predominate in our markets. 
 
 The India senna, which I have examined, has been very pure, 
 consisting only of leaves of Cassia. The Egyptian has frequently a 
 slight admixture of foreign leaves which are nauseous and bitter. 
 
 The Cassia senna would doubtless succeed in our Southern 
 states. The product, consisting of the whole leaves of the plant, 
 must necessarily be large, and would well reward the attention of 
 planters. Ripe seeds may probably be found among the senna of the 
 shops which will vegetate, if not too old. According to Roxburgh 
 and Carey, the Arabian senna cultivated at the Bengal garden is a 
 biennial plant. 
 
 22 
 
170 CASSIA MARILANDICA. 
 
 jalap, to produce their desired effect. Hence the 
 common form of administering senna is in in- 
 fusion, a large portion being made to communi- 
 cate its strength to water at a time. As far as I 
 have been able to observe, about one third more 
 of the Cassia mai^ilandica is required to produce 
 a given effect, than of the C. senna. This objec- 
 tion will prevent it from superseding the senna 
 of the shops, although the facility, with which it 
 may be raised in any part of the United States, 
 will render it a convenient medicine where cheap- 
 ness is an object. It is already cultivated in 
 gardens for medicinal use, and the infusion and 
 decoction are considerably employed by families 
 and country practitioners. 
 
 BOTANICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 Cassia Marilandica, Liif. Sp. pi. — Marttn, Cent. t. 23. — 
 MiCHATJX, Flora, i. 261. — Puhsh, i. 306. — Nuttajll, i. 280. — 
 Cassia mimosse foliis, &c. — Duxenius, t. 260,/. 339. 
 
 MEDICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 B. S. BARToif, Coll. 32. — Thachee, Bisp. 178, — Chap- 
 man-, Therapentics. 
 
 PLATE XXXIX. 
 
 Fig. 1. Cassia Marilandica. 
 
 Fig. 2. The three upper stamens. 
 
 Fig. 3. The fourth andjifth ditto. 
 
 Fig. 4. The sixth and seventh ditto. 
 
 Fig. 5. The three lowest ditto. 
 
 Fig. 6. *3 legume. ' 
 
J'l.XL 
 
 ^ceoi!^^^-n.<!^ t^ya/^^^^^j^ny 
 
 Annin, te ^miM Sc 
 
OTCOTIANA TABACUM. 
 
 Tobacco, 
 
 PLATE XL, 
 
 At the time of the discovery of America the 
 Tobacco plant was cultivated by the natives in 
 the West India islands and in different parts of 
 the continent, especially those bordering on the 
 Gulf of Mexico. Whatever may have been its 
 native climate, we need not trace it farther back 
 than this period ; and can incur but little risk 
 in considering it as indigenous to the southern 
 parts of the United States in their present enlarg- 
 ed extent, [p^ote B.] It is an annual plant capable 
 of perfecting its flowers and fruit in almost any 
 part of the Union, yet seldom found growing 
 spontaneously except in cultivated grounds or 
 their vicinity. 
 
17^ NICOTIAN A TABACUM. 
 
 The genus J^icotiana lias a funnel-shaped co- 
 rolla^ with its border somewhat plaited. Stamens 
 inclined ; stigma emarginate. Capsule two-celled, 
 two or four-valved. The species Tabacum, re- 
 presented in our plate, has its leaves ovate-lanceo- 
 late, sessile, decurrent ; jlozvers panicled, acute. 
 
 Class Fentandria, order Monogynia. Natural 
 orders Lnridc^, Linn. Solanacew, Juss. 
 
 The common Tobacco has a long fibrous root; 
 a stalk five or six feet high, erect, round, hairy, 
 and viscid, branching at top. Leaves sessile, very 
 large, ovate or lanceolate, acuminate, viscid, of a 
 pale green colour. Bractes linear, acute. Flow- 
 ers forming a panicle on the ends of the stem and 
 branches. Calyx swelling, hairy, glutinous, half 
 as long as the corolla, ending in five acute seg- 
 ments. Corolla funnel-shaped, swelling toward 
 the top, the border expanding, with five acute 
 lobes ; the tube of a greenish white, the border 
 red. Filaments inclined to one side, with oblong 
 anthers. Germ ovate, style long and slender, 
 stigma cloven. Capsule ovate, invested with the 
 calyx, two-celled, two-valved, but opening cross- 
 wise at top ; partition contrary to the valves. 
 Seeds very numerous, small, somewhat reniform, 
 attached to a fleshy receptacle. 
 
TOBACCO. 173 
 
 It is a remarkable law of the animal economy, 
 that the power of use and habit is capable of 
 reconciling the system to bear with impunity 
 what in its unaccustomed state proves highly 
 deleterious and even fatal. It is a fact that most 
 substances in the Materia Medica lose their effect 
 after the continuance of their use for a certain 
 length of time, so that if we would realize their 
 original operation, we must increase their dose in 
 proportion as the body becomes accustomed 
 and insensible to their stimulus. This is partic- 
 ularly exemplified in the narcotics. Many of 
 these substances, which at first are not only nau- 
 seous and disgusting in their sensible qualities, 
 but highly injurious in their influence upon 
 health ; are so changed in their effect by habitual 
 use, as to become to those who employ them an 
 innocent and indispensible comfort and a first 
 rate luxury of life. 
 
 In its external and sensible properties, there 
 is no plant which has less to recommend it than 
 the common Tobacco. Its taste in the green 
 state is acrid, nauseous and repulsive, and a small 
 quantity taken into the stomach excites violent 
 vomiting, attended with other alarming symp- 
 toms. Yet the first person who had courage and 
 patience enough to persevere in its use, until hab- 
 
174^ NICOTIAN A TABACUM. 
 
 it had overcome his original disgust, eventually 
 found in it a pleasing sedative, a soother of care, 
 and a material addition to the pleasures of life. 
 Its use, which originated among savages, has 
 spread into every civilized country ; it has made 
 its way against the declamations of the learned, 
 and the prohihitions of civil and religious author- 
 ity, and it now gives rise to an extensive branch 
 of agriculture, or of commerce, in every part of 
 the globe. 
 
 Tobacco was in use among the aborigines of 
 America, at the time of its dicovery. They em- 
 ployed it as incense in their sacrificial fires, 
 believing that the odour of it was grateful to their 
 gods. The priests of some tribes swallowed the 
 smoke of this plant to excite in them a spirit of 
 divination, and this they did to a degree which 
 threw them into a stupor of many hours continu- 
 ance. When recovered from this fit of intoxica- 
 tion, they asserted that they had held a confer- 
 ence with the devil, and had learned from him the 
 com^se of future events. Their physicians also 
 got inebriated with this smoke, and pretended 
 that while under the influence of this intoxication 
 they were admitted to the council of the gods, 
 who revealed to them the evient of diseases. Har- 
 riot. 
 
TOBACCO. 175 
 
 In 1559 Tobacco was sent into Spain and Por- 
 tugal by Hernandez de Toledo, and from tlience 
 it was carried into France as a curiosity by Jean 
 Nicot or Nicotius, ambassador at the court of Lis- 
 bon, whose name is now immortalized by its 
 application to this genus of plants. From this 
 period the use of tobacco spread rapidly through 
 the continent, and in half a century it was known 
 in most countries in Europe. The rich indulged 
 in it, as a luxury of the highest kind; and the poor 
 gave themselves up to it, as a solace for the mis- 
 eries of life. Its use became so sjeneral and so 
 excessive, that in many countries, the constituted 
 authorities, both of church and state, found it 
 necessary to interpose, and to stop the extrava- 
 gant indulgence in it by the severest prohibi- 
 tions. James the First of England, besides writ- 
 ing a book against it, called his " Counterblast to 
 Tobacco," gave orders that no planter in Yirginia 
 should cultivate more than one hundred pounds. 
 Pope Urban the Eighth published a decree of 
 excommunication against all wiio took snuff in 
 the church. Smoking was forbidden in Russia 
 under penalty of having the nose cut off. In 
 Switzerland a tribunal (Chamhre dii tabacj was 
 instituted for the express purpose of trying trans- 
 gressors in Tobacco. A. Turk, who was found 
 
176 NICOTIAN A TABACUM. 
 
 smokin^^ in Constantinople, 'was conducted 
 through the streets of that city with his pipe 
 transfixed through his nose. 
 
 Even in this country, where the use of Tobac- 
 co originated, we find our puritanic ancestors 
 guarding against its abuse by salutary statutes. 
 In the old Massachusetts colony laws is an act 
 laying a penalty upon any one " who shall smoke 
 tobacco within twenty poles of any house ;" or 
 who shall "take tobacco in any inn or common 
 victualling house, except in a private room, so as 
 that neither the master of the said house nor any 
 other guest shall take offence thereat." — ^In the 
 earliest records of Harvard University soon after 
 its foundation, is a regulation of this kind. " No 
 scholar shall take tobacco, unless permitted by the 
 president, with the consent of their parents and 
 guardians, and on good reason first given by a 
 physician, and then in a sober and private man- 
 ner." 
 
 While the legal authorities in various parts of 
 the world took upon tliem to control the abuse 
 of this fascinating weed, the literati of different 
 countries entered warmly into the discussion of 
 its merits and its faults. Among its advocates 
 were Castor Duranti and Raphael Thorius, both of 
 whom wrote Latin poems expressly in its praise. 
 
TOBACCO. 177 
 
 The perform ance of the latter is entitled a 
 "Hjmn to Tobacco," and is very lavish in ascrip- 
 tions to this plant, which he styles the '• gift of 
 heaven and the ornament of earth." So warm, 
 were the prejudices of its advocates, that it ob- 
 tained the reputation of a general panacea, and 
 the catalogue of diseases which it was announced 
 to ciu^e, amounted almost to a complete nosology. 
 
 But the opinions of its adversaries were not 
 less extravagant upon the other extreme. It is 
 remarkable that in the days of its first general in- 
 troduction, no man spoke about it with coolness 
 or indifference, but every one warmly espoused its 
 censure or its praise. Camden, in his life of 
 Queen Elizabeth, says, that men used Tobacco 
 every where, some for wantonness and some for 
 health's sake; and that "with insatiable desire 
 and greediness, they sucked the stinking smoke 
 thereof through an earthen pipe, whicli they 
 presently blevr out again at their nostrils ; — so 
 that Englishmen's bodies were so delighted with 
 this plant, that they seemed as it were degener- 
 ated into barbarians." 
 
 Dr. Yenner iu a work entitled Via recta ad 
 vitam longam, published at London in 1638, gives 
 a brief summary of the injuries done by Tobacco. 
 " It drieth the brain, dimmeth the sight, vitiatetli 
 
 9 3 
 
178 NICOTIANA TABACUM. 
 
 the smell, hurteth the . stomach, destroyeth the 
 concoction, disturbeth the humours and spirits, 
 corrupteth the hi-^ath, induceth a trembling of 
 the limbs, exsiccateth the winde pipe, lungs and 
 liver, annoyeth the milt, scorcheth the heart and 
 causeth the blood to be adusted. In a word, it 
 overthroweth the spirits, perverteth the under- 
 standing, and confoundeth the senses with sudden 
 astonishment and stupiditie of the whole body." 
 A poetical phillippic, called " Tobacco batter- 
 red," was published in the reign of King James 
 by Joshua Sylvester, in which he compares Tobac- 
 co to gunpowder, and pipes to guns ; making the 
 mischief of the two equal. But the most cele- 
 brated of all invectives against Tobacco was the 
 " Counterblast" of King James I. That weak 
 monarch gave vent to his prejudices against this 
 herb in a publication, in which he professes to 
 disprove all the alleged grounds for the toleration 
 of Tobacco, and warns his subjects in a most 
 earnest manner not to sin against Ood, and harm 
 their own persons and goods, and render them- 
 selves scorned and contemned by strangers, who 
 should come among them ; by persevering in a 
 custom loathsome to the eye, hateful to the nose^ 
 and banetul to the brain." 
 
TOBACCO. 179 
 
 Such were the commotions excited hy the 
 introduction and spreading of an article, whose 
 use has now become so common as scarcely to 
 attract notice. This article is the product of 
 several species of Nicotiana, but chiefly of the N. 
 tabacum or Virginian Tobacco, and the 'N. rustica, 
 sometimes called English Tobacco, and being the 
 sort which Sir Walter Raleigh introduced at the 
 court of ftueen Elizabeth. Another species, -^. 
 fruticosa, is said to have been cultivated in the 
 East prior to the discovery of America. The 
 Indians on the banks of the Missouri and Colum- 
 bia rivers cultivate for use the 'N. quadrivaivis of 
 Pursh and N^uttall. It has been remarked that 
 the Tobacco of warm climates is more mild in its 
 flavour, while that raisetl in colder latitudes is 
 more strong and pungent. The Bengal Tobac- 
 co, of which the sheroots are made, is one of the 
 most weak and mild in its properties. After this 
 is the West India Tobacco which aifords the Ha- 
 vanna cigars. Kext is the Tobacco of our South- 
 ern States, and lastly the Tobacco raised in the 
 northern parts of the Union, which is the most 
 acrimonious and pungent of all.* 
 
 * Several varieties of JSTlcotlana Tabacum are cultivated in the 
 United States, of which the principal are the broad leaved or sweet 
 scented^ and the narrow leaved. 
 
180 NICOTIAN A TABACUM. 
 
 An elaborate chemical analysis of Tobacco, 
 lias been published by M. Vauquelin in the 
 Jlnnales tie Chimie. His results are, that the 
 broad leaved Tobacco furnishes from its juices 
 the followin^^ constituents. 1. A large quantity 
 of animal matter of an albuminous nature, 
 2. Malate of lime with an excess of acid. 3. Ace- 
 tic acid. 4. Nitrate and muriate of potash in 
 observable quantities. 5, A red matter soluble 
 in alcohol and water, which swells and boils in 
 the fire, its nature undetermined. 6. Muriate of 
 ammuiiia. 7. A peculiar acrid, volatile, colour- 
 less substance, soluble in water and alcohol, and 
 which appears different from any thing known 
 in the vegetable kingdom. It is this principle 
 which gives to prepared Tobacco its peculiar 
 character, and it is perhaps not to be found in any 
 other species of plant. The medicinal activity of 
 Tobacco evidently resides in this volatile portion, 
 for both the extract and decoction of the plant by 
 long boiling become nearly inert, while the es- 
 sential or the empyreumatic oil is one of the most 
 deadly poisons known. 
 
 Among the substances used by Mr. Brodie in 
 his experiments or vegetable poisons^ was the 
 empyreumatic oil of Tobacco prepared by Mr. 
 Brande by distilling the leaves of Tobacco in a 
 
TOBACCO. 181 
 
 heat above that of boiling water. A quantity of 
 watery fluid came over, on the surface of which 
 was a film of unctuous substance, which he calls 
 the erapyreumatic oil. Mr. Brodie found that 
 two drops of this oil applied to the tongue of a 
 young cat with an interval of fifteen minutes 
 occasioned death. A single drop suspended in 
 an ounce of water and injected into the rectum 
 of a cat, produced death in about five minutes. 
 One drop suspended in an ounce and a half of 
 mucilage and thrown into the rectum of a dog, 
 produced violent symptoms, and a repetition of 
 the experiment killed him. 
 
 Tobacco has been used both as a luxury and 
 prophylactic, and as a medicine. In the former 
 cases it has not been taken internally, but only 
 kept in contact with absorbing surfaces. It is 
 well known, that to the mouth it is applied in 
 substance and in smoke ; and to the nose in the 
 form of powder. The opinion which at one time 
 prevailed of its power to prolong life and to 
 secure immunity from diseases is now pretty 
 fully abandoned. It has no prophylactic reputa- 
 tion except as a preservation for the teeth, and in 
 some degree as a protection against the conta- 
 gion of epidemics. In both these cases it is 
 entitled to a certain degree of confidence, though 
 
182 NICOTIANA TABACUM. 
 
 it is probably inferior to many otber substances 
 for both these purposes. 
 
 As to its effects upon longevity, the great 
 frequency of its use and the facts and observations 
 of Sir John Sinclair render it improbable that 
 when moderately taken, it has any influence in 
 wearing out the constitution, or abridging the usu- 
 al period of life. But like all other narcotics its 
 excessive use or abuse must impair the health 
 and engender disease. Of the different modes of 
 using Tobacco, I imagine that smoking is the 
 most injurious, and the most capable of abuse, 
 since in this process the active principles of the 
 Tobacco are volatilized with the smoke, and are 
 extensively applied to the lungs as well as the 
 mouth and nose and fauces. 
 
 As a medicine, this plant has been employed 
 in a variety of ways for the alleviation and cure 
 of diseases. Externally it has been applied with 
 benefit in tinea capitis and in complaints occa- 
 sioned by the presence of insects. In the form 
 of a cataplasm applied to the pit of the stomach 
 it occasions severe vomiting. The prostration of 
 strength and other distressing symptoms which 
 attend this application, must prevent its general 
 employment. Still it may be remembei*ed as an 
 auxiliary in cases where other emetics have failed 
 
TOBACCO. 183 
 
 to operate. A surgeon in the U. S. army inform- 
 ed me that the soldiers had an expedient to ex- 
 empt themselves from duty, by wearing a piece 
 of tobacco under each armpit, until the most 
 alarming symptoms of real illness appeared in 
 the whole system. 
 
 Dr. James Currie has recorded a case of epi- 
 lepsy cured by the external use of Tobacco. A 
 cataplasm was applied to the stomach for several 
 days about half an hour before the expected re- 
 turn of the paroxysm. A violent impression was 
 produced each time upon the system, the parox- 
 ysm prevented and the diseased association 
 effectually broken up. Two cases of obstinate 
 and dangerous intermittent were cured in the 
 same manner by a decoction of half a drachm of 
 Tobacco in four ounces of water, thrown up as an 
 enema, a short period before the time of the 
 paroxysm. 
 
 The Tobacco enema was formerly recom- 
 mended in colic, nephritic complaints, ^c. Of 
 late years it has been extensively employed in 
 strangulated hernia. In cases of this complaint 
 where the taxis has been ineffectually attempted 
 and the usual auxiliaries have fciiled, an injection 
 made by infusing half a drachm of Tobacco in 
 eight ounces of boiling water for ten minutes, is 
 
184j nicotian a tabacuM. 
 
 found extremelj useful. If assisted by the' local 
 application of ice to the part, it frequently causes 
 the contents of the sac to return spontaneously, 
 and renders the operation unnecessary, which 
 would be otherwise unavoidable. It operates by 
 its powerfully sedative and rehiXing effects, as 
 well as by its cathartic property. 
 
 lYhen the infusion is not used, an injection of 
 Tobacco smoke into the rectum frequently pro- 
 duces the same consequences. The smoke may 
 be made to penetrate farther than any liquid, and 
 it is equally efficacious, from the activity of the 
 volatile parts. It was formerly much used in the 
 restoration of persons apparently dead from 
 drowning, but of late years it has gone more into 
 disuse. From the sedative effect of Tobacco, the 
 tendency to syncope and the great prostration 
 of strength which it occasions in ordinary cases ; 
 it is probable that its employment in cases of 
 asphyxia from drowning, must assist in extin- 
 guishing rather than in rekindling the spark of 
 life. 
 
 As a diuretic. Tobacco has been administered 
 internally in doses so small as not to offend the 
 stomach, with very good effect. Dr. Fowler has 
 published a collection of facts relative to its use, 
 principally in dropsy and dysury, from which he 
 
TOBACCO. 185 
 
 concludes it is a safe and eflicacious diuretic. In 
 thirty one dropsical cases in which he employed 
 it, eigliteen were cured and ten relieved ; and out 
 of eighteen cases of dysury, ten were cured and 
 seven relieved. Dr. Ferriar and several subse- 
 quent practitioners have found it a valuable diu- 
 retic, although CuUen does not speak very en- 
 couragingly of its use. At the present day it 
 does not seem to be extensively in use, having 
 passed into neglect rather because more fashiona- 
 ble remedies have superceded it, than because it 
 has really been weighed and found wanting. It 
 will always deserve trial in obstinate dropsical 
 cases (and such cases it must be confessed are not 
 rare) in wiiicli the more common remedies have 
 been tried without benefit. Of the various for- 
 mulas recommended by Dr. Fowler, the Wine of 
 Tobacco is the only one preserved in the Edin- 
 burgh and Massachusetts pharmacopoeias, being 
 the one which is believed to extract most fully 
 the virtues of the Tobacco. It is made by di- 
 gesting for a week, an ounce of the dried Tobac- 
 co in a pound of Spanish white wine. The dose 
 is from thirty to eighty drops. Dr. Fowler him- 
 self however believed the most effectual mode of 
 administering the Tobacco, was in the form of 
 pills of a grain each. 
 %4i 
 
186 NICOTIAN A TABACUM. 
 
 Tobacco has been employed with some suc- 
 cess m the locked jaw, both of warm and cold 
 climates. Mr. Duncan, surgeon of Grenada, has 
 published ia the Edinburgh Journal the account 
 of a verj distressing case of this kind, which was 
 relieved and finally cured principally by enemas 
 of Tobacco smoke. These applications generally 
 produced syncope and deathlike sickness in the 
 patient, but by prudent management of them, the 
 disease was entirely overcome, and recovery took 
 place. Dr. Holmes of Worcester county, Mass. 
 exhibited the infusion of Tobacco, to a patient 
 under violent tetanus, after the more common 
 remedies had been fully tried without effect. 
 The spasms were completely removed and the 
 patient recovered. 
 
 This powerful medicine has been also em- 
 ployed with some palliative effect in hydrophobia 
 and certain other spasmodic diseases. Its in- 
 ternal use however requires great caution, since 
 patients have in various instances been destroyed 
 by improper quantities administered by the 
 hands of the unskilful or unwary. Notwithstand- 
 ing the common use and extensive consumption 
 of Tobacco in its various forms, it must unques- 
 tionably be ranked among narcotic poisons of 
 the most active class. The great prostration of 
 
TOBACCO. 187 
 
 Strength, excessive giddiness, fainting, and vio- 
 lent affections of the alimentary canal, which 
 often attend its internal use, make it proper tliat 
 so potent a drug should be resorted to by medi- 
 cal men, only in restricted doses and on occa- 
 sions of magnitude. 
 
 BOTANICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 Nicotiana tabacum, Lin. sp. pi. — Aiton, Kew. i. 241. — 
 'WooBYijjJE.f Med. Bot.U77. Blackwelx, L 146.— Pujbsh, i, 
 141. — NuTTAii, i. 132. 
 
 MEDICAL AND OTHER REFERENCES. 
 
 ■Murray, Apparatus, i. 681. — Wafer, Travels, 102 — Har- 
 riott, Voyage to Virginia, — Hakiuyt, 75. — Everard, de her. 
 ba panacea, S^c. 1583. — Chrysostom Magnenus, Exerdta- 
 tiones 14, de Tabaco. — King James I. Works, London, 1616 — 
 Short, Biscoiirses on Tea, Tohacco, c^-c. — Bientema, Tahacolo- 
 gia in 1690. — Hahn, Tabacologia, Jence. — Gerard, Eistorie of 
 Plants, 360. — VAUCiUELiN, Jimmies de Chimie, 1809. — Edinburgh 
 Med, Comment, xl. 327. — Desgranges, Journal de Medicine, 
 1791. — CuiLEN, Mat. Med. — Fowler, Med. Reports on Tobacco, 
 Svo, Lond. — Tatham, on the Culttire and Commerce of Tobacco, 
 Lond. 1800. — Med, and Phtjs. Journal, Vol. 24, 25, et passim.-— 
 Duncan, Repr. in JV. Engl. Journal for 1814. — Ferriar, Jfe^f. 
 Hist. i. 75, and ii. 152. — ^Pott. ii. 72, 85, ^-c.' — ^Wattsrston, 
 Memoir on the Tobacco plant, Washington, 1817. 
 
 PLATE XL. 
 
 Fig. 1. J\'*icotiana tabacum. 
 Fig. 2. Capside. 
 
 Fig. 3. Ripe capsule opening at top. 
 Fig. 4. Transverse section. 
 
NOTES. 
 
 JSTote A. 
 A memoir on the cultivation and use of Asdepias Sijraica, by 
 J. A. Moller, may be found in Tilloch's Philosophical Magazine, 
 Vol. viii. p. 149. Its chief uses were /for beds, cloth, hats and 
 paper. It was found that from eight to nine pounds of the silk 
 occupied a space of from five to six cubic feet, and were suffi- 
 cient for a bed, coverlet and two pillows. — The shortness of the 
 fibre prevented it from being spun and woven alone. It how- 
 ever was mixed with flax, wool, &c. in certain stuffs to advan- 
 tage. Hats made with it were very light and soft. The 
 stalks afforded paper in every respect resembling that obtained 
 from rags. The plant is easily propagated by seeds or slips. 
 A plantation containing thirty thousand plants yeilded from six 
 liundred to eight hundred pounds of silk. 
 
 JS^ote B. 
 Tobacco was discovered in Cuba, Florida and JNIexlco, near- 
 ly three centuries ago, and was soon after introduced from this 
 continent into Europe. Whether or not any species of it was 
 cultivated in the East before the discovery of America, is a 
 point of no consequence in regard to its American nativity. 
 The extent of country throughout which it was used by the ab- 
 origines of this continent, renders it probable that it must have 
 heen cultivated in various parts of America for many centuries 
 previous to its discovery. 
 
NOTES. 189 
 
 The following account of the present mode of cultivating^ 
 Tobacco in our Southern States is extracted from Jin Historical 
 and Practical Essay on the Culture and Commerce of Tobacco. By 
 William Tatham. London, 1800. 
 
 First, of preparing the Tobacco Ground. 
 
 <* There are two distinct and separate methods of preparing 
 the Tobacco ground : the one is applicable to the preparation of 
 new and uncultivated lands, such as are in a state of nature, and 
 require to be cleared of the heavy timber and other productions 
 with which Providence has stocked them ; and the other method 
 is designed to meliorate and revive lands of good foundation, 
 which have been heretofore cultivated, and, in some measure, 
 exhausted by the calls of agriculture and evaporation. 
 
 <* The process of preparing new lands begins as early in the 
 winter as the housing and managing the antecedent crop will 
 permit, by grubbing the under growth with a mattock ; felling 
 the timber with a poll-axe ; lopping off the tops, and cutting the 
 bodies into lengths of about eleven feet, which is about the cus- 
 tomary length of an American fence rail, in what is called a 
 worm or pannel fence. During this part of the process the ne- 
 gro women, boys, and weaker labourers, are employed in piling 
 or throwing the brush-wood, roots, and small wood, into heaps 
 to be burned ; and after such logs or stocks are selected as are 
 suitable to be mailed into rails, make clap-boards, or answer for 
 other more particular occasions of the planter, the remaining 
 logs are rolled into heaps by means of hand-spikes and skids ; 
 but the Pennsylvania and German farmers, who are more con- 
 versant with animal powers than the Virginians, save much of 
 this labour by the use of a pair of horses with a half sledge, or a 
 pair of truck wheels. The burning of this brush-wood, and the 
 log piles, is a business for all hands after working hours 5 and 
 as nightly revels are peculiar to the African constitution, this 
 
190 NOTES. 
 
 part of the labour proves often a very late employment, which 
 affords many scenes of rustic mirth. 
 
 " When this process has cleared the land of its various natu- 
 I'al incumbrances, (to attain which end is very expensive and 
 laborious,) the next part of the process is that of the hoe ; for 
 the plough is an implement which is rarely used in new lands 
 when they are either designed for tobacco or meadow. 
 
 " There are three kinds of the hoe which are applied to this 
 tillage : the first is what is termed the sprouting hoe, which is a 
 smaller species of mattock that serves to break up any particu- 
 lar hard part of the ground, to grub up any smaller sized grubs 
 which the mattock or grubbing hoe may have omitted, to remove 
 small stones and other partial impediments to the next process. 
 
 " The narrow or hilling hoe follows the operation of the 
 sprouting hoe. It is generally from six to eight inches wide, 
 and ten or twelve in the length of the blade, according to the 
 strength of the person who is to use it ; the blade is thin, and 
 by means of a moveable wedge which is driven into the eye of 
 the hoe, it can be set more or less digging (as it is termed,) that 
 is, on a greater or less angle with the helve, at pleasure. In 
 this respect there are few instances where the American black- 
 smith is not employed to alter the eye of an JEn^Zis/i-made hoe 
 before it is fit for use; the industrious and truly useful mer- 
 chants of Glasgow have paid more minute attention to this cir- 
 cumstance. 
 
 " The use of this hoe is to break up the ground and throw it 
 into shape ; which is done by chopping the clods until they are 
 sufficiently fine, and then drawing the earth round the foot until it 
 forms a heap round the projected leg of the labourer like a mole 
 hill, and nearly as high as the knee 5 he then draws out his foot, 
 flattens the top of the hill by a dah with the flat part of the hoe, 
 and advances forward to the next hill in the same manner, until 
 the whole piece of ground is prepared. The centre of these 
 
NOTES. 191 
 
 liiils are in this manner guessed by the eye; and in most instan- 
 ces they approach near to lines of four feet one way, and three 
 feet the other. The planter always endeavours to time this 
 operation so as to tally with the growth of plants, so that he 
 may he certain by this means to pitch his crop within season. 
 
 «* The third kind of hoe is the broad or weeding hoe. This 
 is made use of during the cultivation of the crop, to keep it 
 clean from the weeds. It is wide upon the edge, say from ten 
 inches to a foot, or more ; of thinner substance than the hilling 
 hoe, not near so deep in the blade, and the eye is formed more 
 bent and shelving than the latter, so that it can be set upon a 
 more acute angle upon the helve at pleasure, by removing the 
 wedge. 
 
 Of the Season for Planting. 
 
 " The term, season for planting, signifies a sliower of rain 
 of sufficient quantity to wet the eartli to a degree of moisture 
 which may render it safe to draw the young plants from the 
 plant bed, and transplant them into the hilis which are prepared 
 for them in the field, as described under the last head; and 
 these seasons generally commence in April, and terminate with 
 what is termed the long season in Maij ; which (to make use of 
 an Irishism) very frequently happens in June ; and is the op- 
 portunity which the planter finds himself necessitated to seize 
 with eagerness for the pitching of his crop ; a term which com- 
 prehends the ultimate opportunity which the spring will afford 
 him for planting a quantity equal to the capacity of the collec- 
 tive poMer of his labourei's when applied in cultivation. 
 
 " By the time wliich these seasons approach, nature has so 
 ordered vegetation, that the weather has generally enabled the 
 plants (if duly sheltered from the spring froste, a circumstance 
 to which a planter should always be attentive in selecting his 
 plant patch) to shoot forward in sufficient strength to bear tlic 
 vicissitude of transplantation. 
 
19S NOTES. 
 
 « They are supposed to be equal to meet the imposition of 
 this task when the leaves are about the size of a dollar; but this 
 is more generally the minor magnitude of the leaves; and 
 some will be of course about three or four times that medium 
 dimension. 
 
 ** Thus, when a good shower or season happens at this pe- 
 riod of the year, and the field and plants are equally ready for 
 the intended union, the planter hurries to the plant bed, disre- 
 garding the teeming element, which is doomed to wet his s'Kin, 
 from the view of a bountiful harvest, and having carefully drawn 
 the largest sizeable plants, he proceeds to the next operation. 
 
 Of Flanting. 
 « The office of planting the tobacco is performed by two or 
 more persons, in the following manner : The first person bears, 
 suspended upon one arm, a large basket full of the plants which 
 have been just drawn and brought from the plant bed to the 
 field, without waiting for an intermission of the shower, al- 
 though it should rain ever so heavily ; such an opportunity 
 indeed, instead of being sliunned, is eagerly sought after, and is 
 considered to be the sure and certain means of laying a good 
 foundation, which cherishes the hope of a bounteous return. 
 The person who bears the basket proceeds thus by rows from 
 hill to hill ; and upon each hill he takes care to drop one of his 
 plants. Those who follow make a hole in the centre of each 
 hill with their fingers, and having adjusted the tobacco plant in 
 its natural jjosition, they knead the earth round the root with 
 their hands, until is of a sufficient consistency to sustain the 
 plant against wind and weather. In this condition they leave 
 the field for a few days until the plants shall have formed their 
 radifications ; and where any of them shall have casually per- 
 islied, the ground is followed over again by successive replant- 
 ings, until the crop is rendered complete. 
 
NOTES. 193 
 
 Of Hoeing the Crop. 
 
 « The operation of hoeing comprehends two distinct func- 
 tions, viz. that of hilling, and that of w eedin,^ ; and there are 
 nioi-eover two stages of hilling. The first hilling commences, 
 as heretofore described, in the preparation of the field previous to 
 planting the crop, and it is performed, as before explained, by 
 means of the peculiar implement called a hilling hoe ; the sec- 
 otid hilling is performed after the crop is planted, with a view 
 to succour and support the plant as it may happen to want 
 strengthening, by giving a firm and permanent foundation to its 
 root ; and it may be eflfected according to the demand of the 
 respective plants by a dexterity in changing the stroke witli 
 the weeding hoe, without any necessity to recur to the more 
 appropriate utensil. 
 
 " The more direct use of the weeding hoe commences vnth 
 the first growth of the tobacco after transplantation, and never 
 ceases until the plant is nearly ripe, and ready to be laid hj, as 
 they term the last weeding with the hoe ; for he wlio would 
 have a good crop of tobacco, or of maize, must not be sparing 
 of his labour, but must keep the ground constantly stirring dur- 
 ing the whole growth of the crop. And it is a rare instance 
 to see the plough introduced as an assistant, unless it be the 
 flook yloudi, for the puipose of introducing a sowing of wheat 
 for the following year, even while the present crop is growing ; 
 and this is frequently practised in fields of maize, and some- 
 times in fields of tobacco, which may be ranked amongst the 
 best fallow crops, as it leaves the ground perfectly clean and 
 naked, permitting neither grass, weed, nor vegetable, to remain 
 standing in the space which it has occnpied. 
 S5 
 
19rfc NOTES. 
 
 Of Topping the PlanU 
 "This operation, simply, is that of pinching oflf with the 
 thumb nail^ the leading stem or sprout of the plant, which 
 would, if left aloiie, run up to flower and seed ; but which, from 
 the more substantial formation of the leaf by the help of the nu- 
 tritive juices, which are thereby afforded to the lower parts of 
 the plant, and thus absorbed through the ducts and fibres of the 
 leaf, is rendered more weighty, thick, and fit for market. The 
 qualified sense of this term is applicable to certain legal restric- 
 tions founded upon long experience, and calculated to compel an 
 amendment in the culture of this staple of the Virginia trade, so 
 that it shall at all times excel in foreign markets, and thus just- 
 ly merit a superior reputation. I do not exactly recollect the 
 present limitation by law, which has changed, I believe, with 
 the progress of experience; but the custom is to top the plant 
 to nine, seven, or five leaves, as the quality and soil may seem 
 most likely to bear. 
 
 Of the Sucker, mid Suckering. 
 
 " The sucker is a superfluous sprout which is wont to make 
 its appearance and shoot forth from the stem or stalk, near to 
 the junction of the leaves with the stem, and about the root of 
 the plant ; and if these suckers are permitted to grow, they in- 
 jure the marketable quality of the tobacco by compelling a division 
 of its nutriment during the act of maturation. The planter is 
 therefore careful to destroy these intruders with the thumb nail, 
 as in the act of topping, and this process is termed snckering, 
 
 <• This superfluity of vegetation, like that of the top, has 
 hccn often the subject of legislative care j and the policy of sup- 
 porting the good name of the Virginia produce has dictated the 
 
 * "Many of the Virginians let the thumb nail grow long, and 
 harden it in the candle, for this purpose : not for the use of gouging 
 out people's eyes, as some have thought fit to insinuate." 
 
NOTES. 195 
 
 wisdom of penal laws to maintain her good faith against imposi- 
 tion upon strangers who trade with her. It has been customary 
 in former ages to rear an inferior plant from the sucker whicli 
 projects from the root after the cutting of an early plant ; and 
 thus a second crop has been often obtained from the same field 
 by one and the same course of culture ; and although this scion 
 is of a sufficient quality for smoking, and might become preferred 
 in the weaker kinds of snuff, it has been (I think very properly) 
 thought eligible to prefer a prohibitory law, to a risk of imposi- 
 tion by means of similitude. 
 
 " The practice of cultivating suckers is on these accounts 
 not only discountenanced as fraudulent, but the constables are 
 strictly enjoined ex officio to make diligent search, and to em- 
 ploy the posse comitatus in destroying such crops j a law 
 indeed for which, to the credit of the Virginians, there is seldom 
 occasion 5 yet some few instances have occurred, within my day, 
 where the constables have very honourably carried it into exe- 
 cution in a manner truly exemplary, and productive of public 
 good. 
 
 Of the fForm. 
 
 *« There are several species of the worm, or rather grub ge- 
 nus, which prove injurious to the culture of tobacco ; some of 
 these attack the root, and some the leaf of the plants but that 
 which is most destructive, and consequently creates the most 
 employment, is the horn worm, or large green tobacco worm. 
 This appears to me to be the same species with that which 
 Catesby has described in the second volume of his Natural His- 
 tory of Carolina, p. 94, under the title eruca maxima cornuta, or 
 the great horned caterpillar. 
 
 " *This caterpillar,' says he, *is about four inches long, be- 
 sides the head and tail ; it consists of ten joints, or rings, of a 
 yellow colour ; on the head, which is black, grow four pair of 
 
196 NOTES. 
 
 liorns, smooth and of a reddish brown towards the bottom, jagged 
 or bearded, and black towards the top; on each of the rings arise 
 short, jagged, black horns, one standing on the back, and two on; 
 each side; below which is a trachcsa on each side j likewise the 
 horn of the back of the last ring is longest: the flap of the tail 
 is of a bright bay colour. It hath eight feet, and six papillcE.' 
 «< There are, besides this kind, others without horns ; all of 
 them of a green colour, so far as I recollect. And this, in 
 Catesby's description, differs in respect to colour ; this tobacco 
 worm or horn worm, as the planters call it more particularly, 
 being of a pale delicate gveen ; an effect I apprehend which pro- 
 ceeds from the ( olour of its food when it feeds upon growing to- 
 bacco plants. The act of destroying these worms is termed 
 worming the tobacco, which is a very nauseous occupation, and 
 takes up much labour. It is performed by picking every thing 
 of this kind off the respective leaves with the hand, and destroy- 
 ing it with the foot. 
 
 Of the Term "Firing.-* 
 <* During very rainy seasons, and in some kinds of unfa- 
 vourable soil, the plant is subject to a malady called firing. 
 This is a kind of blight occasioned by the moist state of the 
 atmosphere, and the too moist condition of the plant : I do not 
 recollect whether the opposite extreme does not produce an ef- 
 fect something similar. This injury is much dreaded by the 
 planter, as it spots the leaf with a hard brown spot, which per- 
 ishes, and becomes so far a loss upon the commodity. I appre- 
 hend there are two stages when the plant is, in a certain degree, 
 subject to this evil effect : the first is whilst growing in the field, 
 the latter when hanging in the tobacco house. I know of no other 
 remedy than constant working the ground while the seed is grow- 
 ing, and careful drying by the use of fire in the tobacco house. 
 
NOTES. 197 
 
 Of the Ripening of the Crop. 
 
 " Much practice is requisite to form a judicious discernment 
 concerning the state and progress of the ripening leaf; yet cai^e 
 mqst be used to cut up the plant as soon as it is sufficiently ripe 
 to promise a good curable condition, lest the approach of frost 
 should tread upon the heels of the crop-master ; for in this case, 
 tobacco will be among the first plants that feel its influence, and 
 the loss to be apprehended in this instance, is not a mere partial 
 damage by nippling, but a total consumption by the destruc- 
 tion of every plant. 
 
 «* I find it difficult to give to strangers a full idea of the 
 ripening of tlieleaf: it is a point on which I would not trust 
 my own experience without consulting some able crop-master in 
 the neighbourhood ; and I believe this is not an uncustomary 
 precaution among those who plant it. So far as I am able to 
 convey an idea, wliich I find it easier to understand than to ex- 
 press, I should judge of the ripening of the leaf by its thickening 
 sufficiently ; by the change of its colour to a more yellowish 
 green ; by a certain mellow appearance, and protusion of the web 
 of the leaf, which I suppose to be occasioned by a contraction of 
 the fibres ', and by such other appearances as I might conceive 
 to indicate an ultimate suspension of the vegetative functions. 
 
 Of Cutting and Gathenng the Crop. 
 « When the crop is adjudged sufficiently ripe to proceed to 
 cutting, this operation is assigned to the best and most judicious 
 hands who are employed in the culture; and these being pro- 
 vided each with a strong sharp knife, proceed along the respec- 
 tive rows of the field to select such plants as appear to be ripe, 
 leaving others to ripen ,• those which are cut are sliced off near 
 to the ground, and such plants as have thick stalks or stems are 
 sliced down the middle of the stem in order to admit a more free 
 and equal circulation of air through the parts during the proces;^ 
 
198 ' NOTES. 
 
 of curing, and to free the plant, as far as possible, from such 
 partial retention of moisture as might have a tendency to fer- 
 ment, and damage the staple. The plants are then laid down 
 upon the hill where they grew, with the points of the leaves pro- 
 jecting all the same way, as nearly as possible, so that when the 
 sun has had sufficient effect to render them pliable, they may 
 more easily and uniformly be gathered into turns by the gather- 
 ers who follow the cutting. 
 
 Of Gathering the Crop in. 
 
 «< For the better comprehending the method of gathering the 
 crop, it is necessary to understand the preparation which must 
 be previously made for facilitating this part of the process. 
 
 " In preparing for gathering the crop of tobacco it is cus- 
 tomary to erect a kind of scaffold in various places of the tobacco 
 ground which may happen to offer a convenient situation. This 
 is done by lodging one end of several strong poles upon any log 
 or fence which may be convenient, and resting the other end of 
 such poles upon a transverse pole supported by forks, at about 
 five feet from the ground ; or by erecting the whole scaffold 
 upon forks if circumstances require it. 
 
 **In forming this part of the scaffold in the manner of joists, 
 the poles are placed about four feet asunder from centre to cen- 
 tre, so that when the sticks which sustain the tobacco plants are 
 prepared they may fill the space advantageously by leaving but 
 little spare room upon tlie scaffold. 
 
 " Timber is then split in the manner of laths, into pieces of 
 four feet in length, and about an inch and a half diameter. 
 These are termed the tobacco slicks ; and their use is to hang 
 the tobacco upon, both by lodging the ends of this stick upon 
 the poles of the scaffold which have been previously prepared in 
 the field, in order to render it sufficiently pliable and in condi- 
 tion to carry into the tobacco-house, to which it is now convey- 
 
NOTES. 199 
 
 ed by such means as the planter has in his power ; and by sus- 
 pending it in the same way in the house, so that the air may 
 pass through it in the process of curing. Instead of this partic- 
 ular method, those who prefer to do so, lay it a short while in 
 bulk upon poles, logs, &c. in the field, before they convey it un- 
 der cover." 
 
CONTENTS OF THE SECOND VOLUME. 
 
 Pyrola iimbellnlaf 
 
 "Winter green, 
 
 15 
 
 Ganltheria procunibenSf 
 
 Partridge berrv. 
 
 27 
 
 FodophyUuin peltatumf 
 
 May apple. 
 
 34 
 
 Ictodesfceiidns, 
 
 Skunk cabbage. 
 
 41 
 
 Stafice Carolinianaf 
 
 Marsh rosemary. 
 
 51 
 
 Jisdcpias tuberosa. 
 
 Butterfly weed. 
 
 59 
 
 Magnolia glauca, 
 
 Small magnolia, 
 
 67 
 
 Comas fl-Qrida, 
 
 Dogwood, 
 
 73 
 
 J^anax qninquefuliunif 
 
 Ginseng, 
 
 82 
 
 Folygala senega, 
 
 Seneca snake root, 
 
 97 
 
 Linodendron tidipiferaf 
 
 Tulip tree. 
 
 107 
 
 Juglans cinerea, 
 
 Biittcrnnt, 
 
 115 
 
 Veratrum -oiride, 
 
 American Hellebore, 
 
 121 
 
 Gentiaiia Cateslcei, 
 
 Blue gentian, 
 
 137 
 
 Laurus sassafras. 
 
 Sassafras, 
 
 142 
 
 Jpocynnm aiulroscemifol'mm, 
 
 Dogsbane, 
 
 148 
 
 Birca palustris, 
 
 Leather wood. 
 
 154 
 
 Jtubus villosiis. 
 
 Tall blackberry, 
 
 160 
 
 Cassia Marilandica. 
 
 American senna, 
 
 166 
 
 ^icoiia'iia tahacnm. 
 
 Tobacco, 
 
 171 
 
 J\''otes, 
 
 
 188 
 
AMERICAK 
 
 MEDICAL BOTANY, 
 
 BEING A COLLECTION 
 
 NATIVE MEDICIlSrAL PLAINTS 
 
 UNITED STATES, 
 
 COSTAINIKG THEIR 
 
 BOTANICAL HISTOKY AND CHEMICAL ANALYSIS, 
 
 AND PROPERTIES AND USES 
 MEDICINE, DIET, AND THE ARTS, 
 
 "WITH 
 
 COLOURED ENGRAVINGS. 
 
 BY^ JACOB BIGELOW, M. D. 
 
 llUIVrFORD PKOFESSOH, AXD PROFESSOR OF MATERIA MEBICA IS 
 HARTAHD TTIflVEUSITY. 
 
 yoL. III. 
 
 BOSTON: 
 
 PUBLISHED BY CUMMINGS AND HILLIARD, AT THE BOSTO>f 
 EOOKSTOB.E, NO. 1 COE.NHILL. 
 
 TT5rir.PRESS....HII.XIAED AJTD MZTCALF* 
 
 1820. 
 
PREFACE TO THE THIRD VOLUME. 
 
 A HE subjects of the present work, for reasons 
 which prevail in many publications of the kind, 
 have been inserted without reference to any par- 
 ticular arrangement or system. Those plants 
 received the earliest place, the observations re- 
 specting which were earliest matured, and the 
 drawings of which were first completed. Al- 
 though this plan has been objected to in some 
 foreign criticisms, it is the one pursued in several 
 of the most extensive and useful botanical works 
 of the day, which are accompanied with plates ; 
 and in periodical publications, or those wbich 
 appear in successive numbers, it has more than 
 one decided advantage. It gives time for all the 
 figures to be completed at leisure, from perfect 
 specimens, in proper and convenient seasons ; at 
 the same time that it does not necessitate prema- 
 ture and imperfect descriptions of their subjects, 
 which must take place were an arrangement adopt- 
 
VI PREFACE. 
 
 ed, which might require the first insertion for 
 plants not yet obtained or imperfectly examined, 
 A systematic method may be adhered to in a work 
 which is furnished for the press at once, but must 
 occasion delay and imperfection in a periodical one. 
 As the American Medical Botany is terminat- 
 ed by the completion of its third volume, the 
 opportunity is now afforded for taking a methodi- 
 cal view of its contents. Considered in a medici- 
 nal point of view, the subjects will be best classed 
 as in systems of Materia Medica, by a reference 
 to their leading properties or most striking modes 
 of operating on the human system. In this 
 light they may be arranged as follows. 
 
 JVarcotics. Tonics. 
 
 Datura Stramonium, Menjanthes trifoliata.. 
 
 Conium maculatum. Hamulus Lupulus, 
 
 Cicuta maculata, Eupatorium perfoliatum^ 
 
 Hjoscjamus iiiger, Coptis trifolia, 
 
 Nicotiana tabacum, Cornus fiorida, 
 
 Solanum dulcamara, Gentiana Catesbsei, 
 
 Kalmia latifolia r Aletris farinosa, 
 
 Pol jgala rubella, 
 
 Astringents. Sabbatia angularis. 
 
 Geranium maculatum, Piiuos verticillatus, 
 
 Statice Caroliniana, Liriodendron tulipifera. 
 
 Arbutus Uva ursi. Magnolia glauca. 
 Rubus villosus, AcHd stimulants. 
 
 Rhododendron maximum, Arum triphyllum, 
 
 Nympheea odorata, Ictodes fcetidus, 
 
 IMvrica cerifera. Ranunculus bulbosus. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 Vll 
 
 Emetics. 
 Lobelia inflata, 
 Phytolacca decandra, 
 Gillenia trifollata, 
 Veratrum viride, 
 Sanguinaria Canadensis, 
 Iris versicolor, 
 Apocynum androssemifolium, 
 Dirca palustris. 
 Euphorbia ipecacuanha, 
 Euphorbia corollata. 
 Erythronium Americanuni. 
 
 Solidago odora, 
 Gaultheria procumbens, 
 Laurus sassafras, 
 Illicium Floridanum. 
 
 Diuretics. 
 Juniperus communis, 
 Pyrola Umbellata. 
 
 Expectorants. 
 Polygala senega, 
 Asclepias tuberosa. 
 
 Cathartics. 
 Podophyllum peltatum, 
 Juglans cinerea, 
 Triosteum perfoliatum, 
 Cassia marilandica. 
 
 Demulcents. 
 Panax quinqefolium- 
 
 Anthelmintics. 
 Spigelia marilandica. 
 
 Diaphoretics. 
 Aristolochia serpentaria, 
 Asarum Canadense, 
 Xanthoxylum fraxineum. 
 
 External stimulants. 
 Juniperus Yirginiana, 
 Rhus Vernix, 
 Rhus radicans. 
 
 We avail ourselves of classification in the 
 Materia Medica founded on the kind of operation 
 which medicines exert on the human hody, be- 
 cause there are seemingly no better characteris- 
 tics by which to arrange them. But even this 
 method is defective, because few medicines are 
 simple in their operation, and of course most 
 of them have claims to stand in more tlian one 
 class. As examples, Tobacco, Henbane, Fox- 
 
Vill PREFACE. 
 
 glove, and Opium are all of them properly placed 
 by authors under the head of Narcotics. But of 
 these, Tobacco is an emetic, Henbane a cathartic, 
 Foxglove a diuretic, and Opium, while it checks 
 all other excretions, is itself sudorific. Mercury, 
 under its different forms and modes of adminis- 
 tration, is capable of fulfilling hrJi' a dozen differ- 
 ent intentions. The classifier of medicines then 
 can do no more than to arrange them by their 
 most obvious and well known properties, whatever 
 these may be, leaving it understood that the 
 name of a class is by no means fully descriptive 
 of the character of its contents,* 
 
 In forming a selection of sixty plants to be 
 represented in this work, it has been endeavoured 
 to choose those which are among the most 
 interesting to botanists, at the same time that 
 they possess claims upon the attention of medi- 
 cal men. It is by no means to be asserted that 
 all these possess so decided an efficacy as to enti- 
 tle them to the rank of standard medicines, or to 
 make it advisable that pharmacopceias should be 
 swelled by their introduction. A part of them 
 no doubt are eminently entitled to this distinction. 
 Others are efficacious only in a second degree, 
 
 * For a botanical arrangement of the plants, see the systematic 
 index at the end of the volume. 
 
PREFACE. IX 
 
 but are still in use, and often advantageously so, 
 in the hands of country practitioners. Tisere 
 jare some of yet inferior efficacy, which, having 
 formerly enjoyed a, certain degree of medicinul 
 notoriety, are inserted here with a view of defin- 
 ing their true character. 
 
 The progress of botanical students is mucli 
 facilitated by the possession of correct drawings 
 and dissections of a variety of dissimilar plants. 
 In this country botanical figures, especially of 
 American plants, are scarce, and accessible to but 
 a small number of those who pursue this study. 
 It is hoped that the present work may, in a cer- 
 tain degree, supply the deficiency, at least until 
 the extension of natural science among us, and 
 the increased number of botanical students, shall 
 call forth and support works of greater magnitude. 
 
 A part of the plants contained in this work 
 have never been figured in any botanical work. 
 Others have been represented a great number of 
 times ; yet their importance, in a medical point of 
 view, required their admission ; and the figure 
 being always made from an American specimen, 
 it may, on this account, be not destitute of in- 
 terest. 
 
 Having arrived at the termination of the 
 American Medical Botany, the author feels it 
 
 9, 
 
X PREFACE. 
 
 incumbent on him to state, that he has at no time, 
 had cause to regret the undertaking of a work, 
 which has furnished a most interesting employ- 
 ment for his leisure hours ; and which has been 
 honored with a patronage, greatly exceeding his 
 anticipations. 
 
AMERICAN 
 
 MEDICAL BOTANY, 
 
 GILLENIA TRIFOLIATA. 
 
 Common Gillenia, 
 
 PLATE XLI. 
 
 iN OTWITHSTANDING tlie principle avowed bj 
 Linnseus, that genera are formed by nature ; the 
 determination of generic consanguinity in species 
 occasions in many instances one of the greatest 
 perplexities of the botanist. What difference in 
 structure and cisternal form either of flower or 
 fruit, is sufficient to separate families of plants 
 from each other ; is a point often difficult to decide , 
 and is perhaps as frequently set at rest by conve- 
 nience and by arbitrary decision, as it is by any 
 unexceptionable boundaries designated in nature. 
 When the species of a vegetable order are exceed- 
 ingly numerous, and a close similarity pervades 
 the whole ; genera are multiplied by botanists, 
 that the discrimination of species may be iVtciiitat- 
 
13 GILL.ENIA TRIFOLIATA, 
 
 ed. Oil the otlier hand, where a group of species 
 is not unwieldy from its size, or deficient in dis- 
 tinctive marks, the genera are made as compre- 
 hensive, as natural afiinity will permit. The di- 
 versity of structure, which exists in the flowers of 
 Gentiana^ or the fruit of Bimias, would he deemed 
 ample f jundation for constructing half a dozen ge- 
 nera among the umhelliferous, leguminous, or 
 gramineous orders. But as the species of the 
 genera above have a strong agreement in one part 
 of their fructification, as well as in general habit, 
 and as no great obscurity or inconvenience results 
 from keeping them together, it has not been 
 thought worth while to multiply nomenclature by 
 arranging them under separate titles. 
 
 The separation of Gillenia from Spiraea is one 
 of those cases, upon which the botanist may hesi- 
 tate long, without finding reasons strong enough 
 to influence his decision. The natural order to 
 which they belong is remarkable for having its 
 genera well defined, so that there is no necessity 
 for the separation, arising from confusion or indis- 
 tinctness. The fruit of Gillenia is exactly the 
 fruit of Spiraea, and the habit of the herb in one is 
 not very foreign from that of the other. There is 
 nevertheless something in the irregular corolla, 
 taken in conjunction witli the campanulate calyx, 
 
COMMON GILLENIA. 13 
 
 which I think would prevent any one, at first sight, 
 from considering the plant a Spirsea ; and which 
 may afford sufficient ground for following the 
 example of Moench in considering it a distinct 
 genus. 
 
 The Crillenia trifoliata grows in woods, in a 
 light soil, from Canada to Florida. In the mari- 
 time states I have not met with it north of the 
 Hudson. Its flowering time is in June and July. 
 
 The generic character, which distinguishes 
 this plant frOm Spirsea, is as follows : Calyac cam- 
 paniilcde, fixJe toothed ; corolla irregular^ petals 
 lanceolate^ contracted near the claws ; capsules 
 five, The species trifoliata has ternate, hmceolate, 
 serrate leaves, and stipules tvhich are minute, linea- 
 lanceolate and nearly entire. 
 
 Class Icosandria, order Pentagynia. Natural 
 orders Seniicosce, Lin. Mosacew, Juss. 
 
 This plant has commonly a number of stems 
 from the same root, which are a foot or two in 
 height, erect, slender, flexuous, smooth, commonly 
 of a reddish tinge, and considerably branched. 
 The leaves are alternate, trifoliate, with very short 
 petioles, furnished with small lanceolate, slightly 
 toothed stipules at the base. Leafets ovate, lan- 
 ceolate, acuminate, sharply toothed, the upper 
 ones often single. The flowers are few in nurn- 
 
14 GILLENIA TRIFOLIATA. 
 
 ber, scattered, terminal, nodding, formin^^ a sort 
 of panicle, with long peduncles, occasionally fur* 
 nished with minute lanceolate bractes. Calyx 
 subcampanulate, or tubular, with the lower half 
 narrowest, the border divided into five reflexed 
 acute teeth. Petals five, the two upper ones 
 separated from the three lower, white, with a red- 
 dish tinge on the edge of the outside, lanceolate, 
 unguiculate, contracted, and approximated at base. 
 Stamens about twenty in a double series within 
 the calyx. Germ round, styles approximated. 
 Capsules five, not one^ as some authors have stated, 
 diverging, oblong, acuminate, gibbous without, 
 sharp edged witbin, two valved, one celled, one or 
 two seeded ; seeds oblong, corresponding in shape 
 to the capsule. 
 
 The root of this plant is much branched and 
 knotty. It consists of a woody portion, invested 
 with a thick bark, which when dry is brittle, and 
 Tery bitter to the taste. The predominant, solu- 
 ble ingredients in tiiis root appear to be a bitter 
 extractive matter, and resin. When boiled in 
 water, it imparts to it a beautiful, deep red, wine 
 colour, and an intensely bitter taste. This decoc- 
 tion undergoes no cliange from alcohol or gela- 
 tine, though it gives a precipitate with muriate of 
 tin. Water distilled from the I'oot has its peculiar 
 
COMMON GILLENIA. 15 
 
 flavour, with little of the bitterness. A large 
 portion of resin is precipitated on the addition of 
 water to an alcoholic tincture of the root. 
 
 Under the name of Spirsea trifoliata, this plant 
 is well known to students of the American Materia 
 Medica, as an emetic. To the remarks which 
 have been made by various writers, I can add my 
 own testimony of its possessing properties in a 
 certain degree analogous to those of ipecacuanha. 
 It requires, however, a larger dose, and I have not 
 been satisfied that it is at all certain in its opera- 
 tion. At times I have known fifteen grains to 
 produce a full operation ; at others thirty grains 
 have been given to a person already predisposed 
 to vomit, without producing the least sensible 
 effect. 
 
 The best printed account which I liave found 
 respecting its mode of operation is contained 
 in an Inaugural Dissertation, published at Phila- 
 delphia in 1810, by Dr. De la Motta, then of 
 Charleston, S. C This gentleman, in addition to 
 other trials, took tlie root himself twice in sufficient 
 quantity to produce vomiting. '' In order," he 
 says, " to ascertain this particular power of the 
 Spirsea, I, early in the morning, fasting, prescribed 
 for myself twenty -five grains of the powdered root 
 of this plant. 1 divided this quantity into four 
 
46 OILLENIATRIFOLIATA. 
 
 equal parts, one of which I took every fifteen 
 minutes, conceiving this a sufficient length of 
 time to allow for the action of each dose in my 
 stomacli. The first dose taken produced no 
 manifest effect. At the expiration of fifteen 
 minutes I took a second dose ; — a degree of un- 
 easiness was experienced, attended with some 
 nausea ; — at the end of fifteen minutes more I 
 swallowed a third dose, — nausea increased, until 
 the convulsive action of my stomach took place. 
 The fourth dose was now taken ; considerable 
 effi)rts were made to vomit, and finally the con- 
 tents of my stomach were thrown up, together 
 with a profuse quantity of bile. The determina- 
 tion of blood to my head, the frequency of my 
 pulse, and heat of my system were much aug- 
 mented. I now drank half a pint of warm water ; 
 the action of my stomach subsided, and the nau- 
 sea gradually wore off. A portion of the medicine, 
 I was induced to believe, had insinuated itself 
 into the intestines, as two copious evacuations 
 were produced within the space of three hours. 
 During the day I felt much debilitated, but im- 
 puted this to the general effect of emetics. 
 
 " I was thus satisfied with respect to its efficacy 
 as an emetic upon an empty stomach. But, being 
 still desirous of becoming better acquainted with 
 
COMMON GILLENIA. 17 
 
 its particular operation after eating an usual meal, 
 I made a second experiment, one month after the 
 first. In the morning, one hour after I had eaten 
 a hearty breakfast, I took twenty grains of the 
 medicine, in divided doses, as in the former ex- 
 periment. At the expiration of a very few min- 
 utes nausea commenced, which continuing to 
 increase, with very few efforts I discharged the 
 contents of my stomach. The effects of the second 
 trial answered exactly my expectations." 
 
 Some authors have attributed a tonic power to 
 the Gillenia, when administered in s*mall doses. 
 That it possesses such a power is rendered prob- 
 ble by its bitter taste, and by the fact, that small 
 doses of ipecacuanha exert a beneficial stimulus 
 on the stomach in certain cases of debility in 
 that organ. 
 
IS GILLENIA TRIPOLI AT A. 
 
 BOTANICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 Gillenia trifoliata, Mcench, Metli. suppl. p. 286. — Nuttall, 
 Genera, i. 307. — Spirgea trifoliata, Lin. — Willd. Sp. pi. ii. 1063.— 
 Curtis, Bot. Mag. t. 489. — Miller, Icones, 256. — Michaux, Flor, 
 i. 294.— PuRSH, i. 243. 
 
 MEDICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 ScHOEPF, 80. — B. S. Barton, Coll. 26. — De la Motta, Inaugural 
 Bissertation. 
 
 , PLATE XLL 
 
 Fig. 1. Gillenia trifoliata. 
 
 Fig. 2. Calyx. 
 
 Fig. 3. *i petal. 
 
 Fig. 4. Flower opened, shelving the situation of the stamens. 
 
 Fig. 5. Germ and styles. 
 
 Fig. 6. Styles separated. 
 
P/.. .\7.// 
 
 3 ^ 
 
 '. /l/f^.) rarnrrr/dti 
 
 % 
 
 Annirr I- Sr;ifJ> 
 
RHUS EADICANS. 
 
 Poison Ivy. 
 
 PLdTE XLIL 
 
 JuiKE the Rhus vernix, describetl in our first 
 volume, this plant is regarded with aversion, and 
 too frequently furnishes cause to be remembered 
 by persons of susceptible constitution, who un- 
 warily become exposed to its poisonous influence. 
 The general recognition of its deleterious charac- 
 ter is evinced in the application of the names 
 Foison vine, Poison creeper, and Poison Ivy, 
 which are given to it in all parts of the United 
 States. 
 
 The Rhus radicans is a pretty common 
 inhabitant of the borders of fields and of woods 
 in most soils which are not very wet. Its mode 
 of growtli is much like that of the common 
 creeper, the Ampelopsis quinquefolia of Michaux ; 
 and like that vine, and the European Ivy, it 
 would doubtless be cultivated for ornament, were 
 
30 RHUS RADICATES. 
 
 it harmless as it is handsome. As its name 
 implies, this vine ascends upon tall objects in its 
 neighbourhood by means of strong lateral rooting 
 fibres, which project in great numbers from its 
 sides, and attach themselves to the bark of trees 
 and the surface of stones. The extreme branches 
 of these fibres appear very strong in proportion 
 to their fineness, and insinuate themselves into 
 the minutest pores and crevices. The adhesion 
 of the vine to the hark of trees is frequently so 
 strong, that it cannot be torn off without breaking, 
 and I have repeatedly seen large stems of the 
 Hhus completely buried in the trunks of old 
 trees, the bark having grown over and enveloped 
 them. The fibres are analogous in their struc- 
 ture to fine roots, and consist of a regular wood 
 and bark. They are sometimes thrown out in 
 such numbers on all sides, as to give the vine a 
 shaggy appearance and conceal its bark. In 
 general, however, they tend to tlie shady side, 
 and are attracted toward opaque objects, furnish- 
 ing an exemplification of Mr. Knight's beautiful 
 explanation of motion in tendrils, which, by their 
 propensity to avoid the light and approach the 
 shade, are directed into contact with bodies 
 capable of yielding them support. 
 
POISON IVY. 21 
 
 The size of the stem in this vine is commonly 
 not more than an inch. Sometimes, however, in 
 very old plants, it is found several times as large. 
 It is usually compressed on the side which 
 adheres to the support. In favourable situations 
 it ascends to the tops of the highest rocks and 
 trees, and is often seen restoring to decayed 
 trunks the verdure which they have lost. When 
 it does not meet with an elevated prop, the plant 
 becomes stunted in its growth, is more branched, 
 and affects a spiral mode of grow th ; or falls to 
 the ground, takes root and rises again. 
 
 The genus Rhus is placed by Linnaeus in 
 the class Pentamhna, and order Trigynia. The 
 present species, however, is dioecious, a fact 
 which is also true of most of the American 
 species of Rhus which I have examined. The 
 Rhoes belong to the Linn&ean natural order 
 Biimosw, and to the Terebintacew of Jussieu. 
 
 The leaves of the Rhus radicans are ternate, 
 and grow on long semicylindrical petioles. 
 Leafets ovate or rhomboidal, acute, smooth and 
 shining on both sides, the veins sometimes a 
 little hairy beneath. The margin is sometimes 
 entire and sometimes variously toothed and 
 lobed, in the same plant. The flowers are small 
 and greenish wliitc. They grow" in panicles or 
 
SS RHUS RADICANS. 
 
 compound racemes on the sides of the new 
 shoots, and are chiefly axillary. The 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 
 centre is a rudiment of a style. — The fertile 
 flowers, situated on a different plant, are about 
 half the size of the preceding. The calyx and 
 corolla are similar but more erect. They have 
 five small, abortive stamens and a roundish germ 
 surmounted with a short, erect style, ending in 
 three stigmas. The berries are roundish and of 
 a pale green colour, approaching to white. 
 
 A plant has long appeared in the Pharmaco- 
 poeias under the name of Mhiis toa^icodendron. 
 Botanists are not agreed whether this plant is a 
 separate species from the one under considera- 
 tion, or whether they are varieties of the same. 
 Linnseus made them different with the distinction 
 of the leaves being naked and entire in Rhus 
 radicans, while they are pubescent and angular 
 in Ehus toxicodendron. Michaux and Pursh, 
 whose opportunities of observation have been 
 more extensive, consider the two as mere local 
 varieties ; while Elliott and Nuttall still hold 
 them to be distinct species. Among the plants 
 which grow abundantly around Boston, I have 
 
POISON IVY. 33 
 
 frequently observed individual shoots from the 
 same stock having the characters of both varieties. 
 1 have also observed that young plants of Ehus 
 radicans frequently do not put out rooting fibres 
 until they are several years old, and that they 
 seem, in this respect, to be considerably influ- 
 enced by the contiguity of supporting objects. 
 
 The wood of the Poison Ivy is brittle, fine 
 grained and white, with a yellow heart in the old 
 plants. 
 
 If a leaf or stem of tbis plant be broken off, 
 a yellowish milky juice immediately exudes from 
 the wounded extremity. After a short exposure 
 to the air, it becomes of a deep black colour and 
 does not again change. This juice, when applied 
 to linen, forms one of the most perfect kinds of 
 indelible ink. It does not fade from age, 
 washing, or exposure to any of the common 
 chemical agents. I have repeatedly, when in 
 the country, marked my wristband with spots of 
 this juice. The stain was at first faint and 
 hardly perceptible, but in fifteen minutes it 
 became black, and was never afterwards eradi- 
 cated by washing, but continued to grow darker 
 as long as the linen lasted. 
 
 Dr. Thomas Horsfield, in his valuable disser- 
 tation on the American species of Ehus, made 
 
24i RHUS RAUICANS. 
 
 various unsuccessful experiments with a view to 
 ascertain the nature of this coh)uring principle, 
 and the means of fixing it on stuffs. He found 
 that the juice, expressed from the pounded leaves, 
 did not produce the black colour, and that strong 
 decoctions of the plant, impregnated with various 
 chemical mordants, produced nothing more than 
 a dull yellow, brownish or fawn colour. The 
 reason of this is, that the colouring principle 
 resides not in the sap, but in the succiis proprius 
 or peculiar juice of the plant, that this juice 
 exists only in small quantity, and is wholly insol- 
 uble in water, a circumstance which contributes 
 to the permanency of its colour, at the same time 
 that it renders some other medium necessary for 
 its solution. 
 
 With a view to ascertain the proper menstru- 
 um for this black substance, I subjected bits of 
 cloth stained with it, to the action of various 
 chemical agents. Water, at various temperatures 
 assisted by soap and alkali, produced no change 
 in its colour. Alcohol, both cold and boiling, was 
 equally ineffectual. A portion of the cloth, di- 
 gested several hours in cold ether with occasional 
 agitation, was hardly altered in appearance. 
 Sulphuric acid reddened the spots, but scarcely 
 rendered them fainter. The fumes of oxymuriatie 
 
POISON IVY. 25 
 
 acid which bleached vegetable leaves and bits of 
 calico in the same vessel, exerted no effect on this 
 colour. 
 
 Boiling ether is the proper solvent of this 
 juice. A piece of linen spotted with the Hhus \ 
 was immersed in ether and placed over a lamp. 
 
 j 
 
 As soon as the fluid boiled, the spot began to ; 
 grow fainter, and in a few minutes was wholly | 
 discharged, the ether acquiring from it a dark I 
 colour. The linen at the same time became 
 tinged throughout with a pale greyish colour, 
 acquired from the solution. 
 
 This nigrescent juice, in common with that 
 of the Rhus vernix, has, perhaps, claims to be 
 considered a distinct proximate principle in 
 vegetable chemistry. 
 
 The leaves and bark are astringent to the ^^ 
 taste, which quality appears to be occasioned by 
 gallic acid rather than tannin. The infusion and 
 decoction become black on the addition of salts 
 of iron, but discover hardly any sensibility to i 
 gelatin. 
 
 A poisonous quality exists in the juice ,and 
 effluvium of this plant, like that which is found 
 in the Ehus vernix already described. It is said, 
 that some other species of Rhus, such as Rhus 
 pumilum and Rhus typliinum, possess the same 
 4 
 
26 RHUS RADICANS, 
 
 propertj in a greater or less degree. The poison 
 Ivj, however, appears to be less frequently inju- 
 rious than the poison Dogwood, and many persons 
 can come in contact with the former with impu- 
 nity, who are soon affected by the latter. I have 
 never, in ray own person, been affected by hand- 
 ling or chewing the Rhus radicans, though the 
 E,hus vernix has often occasioned a slight eruption. 
 Indeed, the former plant is so commonly diffused 
 by road-sides and near habitations, that its ill 
 consequences must be extremely frequent, were 
 many individuals susceptible of its poison. 
 
 Those persons who are constitutionally liable 
 to the influence of this poison, experience from it 
 a train of symptoms very similar to those which 
 result from exposure to the Blius vernix. These 
 consist in itching, redness and tumefaction of the 
 affected parts, particularly of the face ; succeeded 
 by blisters, suppuration, aggravated swelling, 
 heat, pain, and fever. When the disease is at its 
 height, the skin becomes covered with a crust, 
 aiM the swelling is so great as in many instances 
 to close the eyes and almost obliterate the features 
 of the face. The symptoms begin in a few hours 
 after the exposure, and are commonly at the height 
 on the fourth or fifth day ; after which, desqua- 
 mation begins to take place, and the distress, in 
 most instances, to diminislL 
 
POISON IVY. ^7 
 
 Sometimes the eruption is less general, and 
 confines itself to the part which has been exposed 
 to contact with the poison. A gentleman, vTith 
 whom I was in company, marked his wristband 
 with the fresh juice, to observe the effect of the 
 colour. The next day his arm was covered with 
 an eruption from the wrist to the shoulder, but 
 the disease did not extend further. It sometimes 
 happens that the eruption continues for a longer 
 time than that which has been stated, and that one 
 set of vesications succeeds another, so as to protract 
 the disease beyond the usual period of recovery. 
 
 The symptoms of this malady, though often 
 highly distressing, are rarely fatal. I have nev- 
 ertheless been told of cases in which death 
 appeared to be the consequence of this poison. 
 
 The disease brought on by the different 
 species of Rhus appears to be of an erysipelatous 
 nature. It is to be treated by the means which 
 resist inflammation, such as rest, low diet, and 
 evacuations. Purging with the neutral salts is 
 peculiarly useful, and in the case of plethoric 
 constitutions, or where the fever and arterial 
 excitement are very great, blood-letting has been 
 found of service. 
 
 The extreme irritability and burning sensa- 
 tion may be greatly mitigated by opium. Cold 
 
§8 RHUS RADICANS. 
 
 applications, in the form of ice or cold water, are 
 strongly recomraended by Dr. Horsefield in his 
 treatise, and when persevered in, they appear to 
 exert a remarkably beneficial effect. The^cetate_ 
 of lead is perhaps as useful as any external 
 palliative, and it should be used in solution rather 
 than in the ointment, that it may be applied as 
 cold as possible. The late Dr. Barton speaks 
 highly of a solution of corrosive sublimate exter- 
 nally applied in this disease, but from trials of 
 the two remedies made at the same time and 
 in the same patient, I have found the lead the 
 more beneficial of the two. 
 
 A person who has been in contact with the 
 Shus and finds himself poisoned, should imme- 
 diately examine his hands, clothes, ^c. to see if 
 there are no spots of the juice adhering to him. 
 These, if present, should be removed, as they will 
 otherwise serve to keep up and extend the dis- 
 order. From a want of this precaution, the 
 disease is frequently transferred from the hands 
 to different parts of the body, and likewise kept 
 up for a longer time than if the cause had been 
 early removed. As washing does not eradicate 
 the stains of this very adhesive juice, it is best to 
 rub them off with some absorbent powder. 
 
POISON IVY. 29 
 
 The Rhus radicans has been administered 
 internally in certain diseases by a few practi- 
 tioners in Europe and America. Dr. Horsefield, 
 in several instances, administered a strong 
 infusion in the dose of about a teacup full to 
 consumptive and anasarcous patients. It ap- 
 peared to act as an immediate stimulant to the 
 stomach, producing some uneasiness in that 
 organ, also promoting perspiration and diuresis. 
 Some practitioners in the Middle States, we are 
 told by the same author, have exhibited it with 
 supposed benefit in pulmonary consumption. A 
 French physician, Du Fresnoy, has reported 
 seven cases of obstinate herpetic eruption, which 
 were cured by the preparations of this plant. 
 His attention was drawn to the subject by finding 
 that a young man who had a dartre upon his 
 wrist of six years' standing, was cured of it by 
 accidentally becoming poisoned with this plant. 
 The same physician administered the extract in 
 several cases of palsy, four of which, he says, were 
 cured by it. 
 
 Dr. Alderson, of Hull, in England, gave the 
 Hhus toxicodendron in doses of half a grain, or a 
 grain three times a day, in several cases oi 
 paralysis ; and states, that all his patients recov- 
 ered, to a certain degree, the use of their limbs. 
 
30 EHUS RADICANS. 
 
 The first symptom of amendment was an un- 
 pleasant feeling of prickling or twitching in the 
 paralytic limbs. Dr Duncan, author of the 
 Edinburgh Dispensatory, states, that he had 
 given it in larger doses witliout experiencing the 
 same success, although he thinks it not inactive 
 as a medicine. 
 
 My own opinion is, that the plant under 
 consideration is too uncertain and hazardous to 
 be employed in medicine, or kept in apothecaries' 
 shops. It is true, that not more than one person 
 in ten is probably susceptible of poison from it. 
 Tet, even this chance, small as it is, should deter 
 us from employing it. In persons not constitu- 
 tionally susceptible of the eruptive disease, it is 
 probably an inert medicine, since we find that 
 Du Fresnoy's patients sometimes carried the 
 dose as high as an ounce of the extract, three 
 times a day, without perceiving any efifect from it. 
 
 It is true that the external application of the 
 E,hus radicans and Rhus vernix would, in certain 
 cases, aiford a more violent external stimulus, 
 than any medicinal substance with which we are 
 acquainted. But since it is neither certain in its 
 effect, nor manageable in its extent, the prospect 
 of benefit, even in diseases like palsy and mania, 
 is not sufficient to justify the risk of great evil. 
 
POISON IVY. 31 
 
 JBOTANICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 Rhus radicans, Willd. Sp. pi. i. 1481. — Elliott, i. — Rhus 
 toxicodendron, &c. Michaux, Flor. i. 183. — Pursh, i. 205. — Toxi- 
 codendron rectum &c. — Dillenius, Elth. t. 291. 
 
 MEDICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 Du Fresno Y, quoted in Jlnnals of Medicine, iv. 182. — v. 483. — 
 Med. and Phys. Journal, i. 308. — vi. 273. — x. 486. — Duncan, Dis- 
 pens. 294 — ^Horsefield, Dissertation, Philad. 1798. 
 
 PLATE XLIL 
 
 g. 1. Rhus radicans, the barren plant in flower^ 
 
 g. 2. Fruit. 
 
 g. 3. Barren flower. 
 
 g. 4. Fertile flower. 
 
 g. 5, Petal. 
 
 g. 6. Stamens and rudiment of a style in the barren floiver, 
 
 g. 7. Germ, style and abortive stamens in the fertile flower. 
 
MYRICA CEEIFERA. 
 
 Ifucv Myrtle. 
 
 PLATE XLIIL 
 
 Almost every region of the United States 
 produces varieties of the Wax myrtle. Michaux 
 considers them all as belonging to one species, a 
 conclusion which is warranted by the great num- 
 ber of intermediate sizes, and forms of leaf, which 
 may he observed between the different extremes. 
 Pursh, however, has chosen to distinguish three 
 species which bear wax, and which he names 
 cerifera after Linnseus, Caroliniensis from Will* 
 denow, and Pennsylvanica from Lamarck. The 
 Waoc myrtle or Bayherry, as it is often called, 
 which is common in New England, varies in 
 height from one to seven or eight feet. It is 
 found in every kind of soil from the borders of 
 swamps to the tops of barren hills, and is very 
 much influenced in its size and appearance, by 
 the place in which it happens to grow. 
 
I^LXLUr 
 
 O 
 
 ./^ 
 
 r^rt^r rr'i'//<'7'n' 
 
WAX MYRTLE. S3 
 
 The genus Myrica belongs to the class Bioecia 
 and order Tetrandria. It is also ranked among 
 the Jlmentaceod of Linnaeus and Jussieu. 
 
 The generic cliaracter consists in an imbri- 
 cated ament ; the scales without a corolla ; the 
 barren floivers containing four anthers, the fortile 
 ones two styles. Fruit, one seeded^ — The spe- 
 cific character, as given by Michaux, is as follows. 
 Leaves wedge-lanceolate, with a fow serratures at 
 top ; barren aments lax ; fruit spherical, naked, 
 distinct. 
 
 The Wax myrtle is found bearing fruit at 
 every size, from the heiglit of one foot, to six or 
 eight. In Louisiana, it is said to grow to twelve 
 feet. The top is much branched, and covered 
 with a grayish bark. The leaves are wedge- 
 lanceolate, varying in width, sometimes entire, 
 but more frequently toothed, particularly toward 
 the end. They are somewhat pubescent, a little 
 paler beneath, and generally twisted, or revolute 
 in their mode of growth. They are inserted in a 
 scattered manner by short petioles. The flowers 
 appear in May before the leaves are fully ex- 
 panded. 1 he barren ones grow in catkins, which 
 are sessile, erect, about half an inch or three 
 quarters long ; originating from the sides of the 
 last year's twigs. Every flower is formed by a 
 5 
 
34j myrica cerifera. 
 
 concave rhomboidal scale, containing three or 
 four pairs of roundish anthers on a branched 
 footstalk. The fertile flowers, which grow on a 
 different shrub, are less than half the size of the 
 barren ones, and consist of narrower scales, with 
 each an ovate germ, and two filiform styles. 
 
 To these anients succeed clusters or aggre- 
 gations of small globular fruits resembling berries, 
 which are at first green, but finally become nearly 
 white. They consist of a hard stone inclosing a 
 dicotyledonous kernel. This stone is studded on 
 its outside with small black grains resembling 
 fine gun-powder, over which is a crust of dry 
 white v/ax, fitted to the grains and giving the 
 surface of the fruit a granulated appearance. 
 Botanically speaking, this fruit has been im- 
 properly called a berry, and a drupe ; since it is 
 always dry and never invested with a cuticle, or 
 any thing but the grains and wax. 
 
 Every young part of the Wax myrtle has a 
 fragrant, balsamic smell, which it communicates 
 to the fingers when rubbed by them. This 
 appears to be derived from a resinous exudation, 
 which may be seen in minute points of a bright 
 transparent yellow, covering the young shoots 
 and under surface of the leaves. In the berries 
 this resinous substance is within the wax. 
 
WAX MYRTLE. 35 
 
 The bark and leaves of the Myrica cerifera 
 contain gallic acid, tannin, resin, and a small 
 quantity of mucilage, which are manifested by 
 their usual tests. 
 
 The wax of the Myrica is obtained for com- 
 mon purposes by boiling large quantities of the 
 berries in kettles with water enough to cover 
 them to the depth of several inches. The ber- 
 ries, which float at first, gradually subside to the 
 bottom when the wax is melted off, which latter 
 substance floats on the surface. When the 
 boiling has been continued long enough to divest 
 the berries of most of their wax, the liquid is 
 suffered to cool, and the wax concretes on the top. 
 It is purified by melting it anew, and is then cast 
 into masses. 
 
 In this state it is of a greenish gray colour, 
 with a consistence which is intermediate between 
 that of bees wax and tallow, being brittle and not 
 remarkable for adhesiveness or unctuosity. It 
 burns with a white flame, which is less vivid than 
 that of tallow or whale oil. 
 
 The cliemical properties of this wax have 
 been examined by M. Cadet, in France, and Dr. 
 Bostock, in England. From their experiments, 
 we learn that water has no action on the Myrtle 
 wax, either cold or at the boilina* heat. Dr. 
 
36 MYRICA CERIFERA. 
 
 Bostock informs us that alcohol, at the ordinary 
 temperature of the atmosphere, has no action 
 upon it ; but one hundred parts by weight of the 
 fluid, when boiling, dissolve about five parts of 
 the wax. About four fifths of this is deposited 
 by cooling, and the rest is slowly deposited in a 
 few days, or may be precipitated by water. Of 
 the mass of wax, a certain portion remains insol- 
 uble in alcohol. 
 
 Sulphuric ether, according to Dr. Bostock, 
 dissolves but little of the wax, when cold, but 
 acts upon it rapidly, when boiling, taking up 
 somewhat more than one quarter of its own 
 weight. Upon evaporation, the wax is deposited 
 in a crystalline or lamellated form, its texture 
 resembling that of spermaceti. — Rectified oil of 
 turpentine, when assisted by heat, dissolves about 
 six per cent of its own weight, most of which is 
 deposited on cooling. — Pure potash, in water, 
 renders the wax colourless by boiling, and forms 
 a soap with a small part, which may be decom- 
 posed by an acid, and affords' the wax nearly un- 
 changed. — The sulphuric acid, assisted by heat, 
 dissolves about one twelfth of its own weight, and 
 forms a dark brown mass. The nitric and muriatic 
 acids exert very little action upon it. Dr. Bostock 
 considers the Myrtle wax to be a fixed vegetable 
 oil, rendered concrete by oxygen. 
 
WAX MYRTLE. 37 
 
 M. Cadet, in addition to many of the above 
 characteristics of Myrtle wax, found that it com- 
 bined readily with the semivitreoiis oxyde of lead, 
 forming a very hard plaister. When distilled in 
 a retort, the wax was partly decomposed, and a 
 portion which passed over was white and of a 
 soft consistence. Oxygenated muriatic acid 
 bleaches it, but with more difficulty than bees 
 wax. 
 
 The experiments which I have made on this 
 substance confirm the preceding statements with 
 the following exceptions. Cold alcohol dissolves 
 a minute portion, which is gradually separated by 
 the addition of water, and floats in perceptible 
 flocci, near the surface. Cold ether dissolves 
 about one sixteenth of its weight. Tliis it does 
 with great rapidity, and if thin shavings of the 
 wax be dropped into a vessel of ether, they 
 disappear almost immediately. 
 
 Dr. J. F. Dana has published, in Silliman's 
 Journal, an account of some experiments made 
 to ascertain the proportion of wax, and of tbe 
 other parts which compose the entire berry. 
 He found the wax to constitute nearly a third of 
 the whole, or thirty two per cent ; the kernels 
 47.00, the black powder 1^.00, with about d.OO of 
 a resino-extractive matter. 
 
38 MYRICA CERIFERA. 
 
 There undoubtedly exists, in the berries of 
 this shrub, some interesting constituents beside 
 the wax and insoluble portions, as the following 
 results will show. If water be distilled from the 
 fresh berries, it acquires a slight pearly appear- 
 ance and a fine aromatic odour and taste. This 
 indicates the presence of a volatile oil, though I 
 have not performed the experiment sufficiently 
 in the large way to obtain any oil separate. The 
 decoction remaining in the retort gives proofs of 
 gallic acid. 
 
 When the wax, in a separate state, is boiled 
 in alcohol, a portion is dissolved, which is mostly 
 deposited on cooling, leaving the fluid clear. 
 But if alcohol be boiled upon the berries till a 
 strong solution is formed, it does not give a 
 deposit on cooling, but the solution coagulates 
 into a soft solid and remains afterwards unaltered. 
 This coagulum is readily soluble in cold ether, 
 and melts when exposed to heat. If the berries 
 be boiled in water until the wax is melted and 
 principally detached, the remaining parts still 
 give a coagulating solution with alcohol. — The 
 tincture made by digesting cold alcohol on the 
 bruised berries is considerably coloured, and 
 becomes turbid on the addition of water, but 
 whether the resinous sybstance thus precipitated 
 
WAX MYRTLE. 3^ 
 
 is the same in small quantity, which produces 
 the coagulation in a large one , I am not pre- 
 pared to say. 
 
 It appears, then, that there exists in the 
 berries of the Myrica a peculiar vegetable prin- 
 ciple, bearing nearly the same relation to alcohol^ 
 as starch and gelatin do to water. I have not yet 
 obtained it in a separate state, and cannot there- 
 fore give any additional characteristics to those 
 which have been already stated. 
 
 The Myrtle wax is useful for many of the 
 purposes for which bees wax and tallow are 
 employed, particularly for candles. It burns 
 with a clear flame, though less vivid than that of 
 common oil, and emits a considerable fragrance. 
 It was formerly much in demand as an ingredi- 
 ent in a species of Macking ball, to which it com- 
 m^unicated a tempori^'y lustre and power of re- 
 pelling water. It has occasionally been used 
 in pharmacy in various compositions intended for 
 external use, aod is mild or stimulating according 
 as it is more or less pure and freed from the 
 colouring matter. 
 
 In some parts of Europe plantations of this 
 shrub have been raised with a view to the profit 
 to be derived from the wax. In this country, 
 where the shrub abounds, the berries are often 
 
4^0 MYRICA CERIFERA. 
 
 neglected, their collectioQ and the separation of 
 the wax being deemed too laborious to compen- 
 sate the trouble. 
 
 In Dr. Thatcher's Dispensatory, we are in- 
 formed, on the authority of Dr. Mann, that the 
 bark of the root of the Mjrica cerifera is emetic. 
 With a view to examining thoroughly its medici- 
 nal properties, Dr. S. L. Dana, in 1818, made it 
 the subject of an inaugural dissertation. He 
 found that the powdered bark was acrid and as- 
 tringent, but did not appear to possess any other 
 qualities than were attributable to those two. 
 Moderate doses of the powder and decoction pro- 
 duced no effect on the stomach or bowels. Large 
 doses, for instance two scruples, were swallowed 
 with difficulty on account of their acrimony, and 
 occasioned heat and nausea at the stomach. 
 Larger doses, of a drachm, produced a powerful 
 burning sensation and vomiting. Costiveness 
 generally followed the use of this medicine. The 
 powder, when snuffed up the nose, proved pow- 
 erfully sternutatory, and when applied to the 
 fungous granulations of an ulcerated leg, it pro- 
 duced so much pain as compelled the patient to 
 wash it off. 
 
 Yf e may then consider the bark of the Myrica 
 as an acrid stimulant and astringent. That it 
 
WAX MYRTLE. 4i 
 
 scunetimes proves emetic, in large doses, is to be 
 explained in the same way as tlie operation of 
 mustard and horse-radish, which some of the 
 older physicians employed as emetics. "When 
 the stomach is burdened with an undue quantity 
 of stimulus, it naturally tends to relieve itself by 
 vomiting. 
 
 On the whole, we are to esteem the Myrica 
 cerifera as more interesting in a chemical, than a 
 medical point of view. The pleasant aroma of 
 the water distilled from the berries, and the ap- 
 plication of the wax to some purposes of phar- 
 macy, are all, that this shrub at present offers, 
 much deserving the attention of physicians. 
 
 BOTANICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 Myrica cerifera, Willd. iv. 745. — Michaux, ii. 227. — Pursh^ 
 
 ii. 620. — Myrtus foliis lanceolatis, &c. — Gronovius, 155.— Myrtus 
 brabanticse similis, &c. — Catesby, i. 13 ? 
 
 MEDICAL AND CHEMICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 Cadkt, translated in JSTicliohon's Journal, 8^'o. vol. iv. 187.—= 
 BosTocK, in ditto, 129. — Kalm, Travels, i, 129. — Dana, in Silliman's 
 Journal, vol. i. — Thacher, Disp. 288. 
 
 6 
 
4^ MYRICA CEllIFERA. 
 
 PLATE XLIII. 
 
 Fig, 1. Myrica cerifera, with fruit not fully ripe. 
 
 Fig. 2. Jl barren branch in flower. 
 
 Fig. 3, Fertile ditto in flower. 
 
 Fig. 4. Jl barren flower. 
 
 Fig. 5. The same with the scale turned down, shewing the mode 
 
 of growth of the anthers. 
 Fig. 6. Fertile flower. 
 Fig. 7. Fruit somewhat magnified. 
 
j}ir^^y^<'^^^' ^^'''''''' 
 
 /?fj 
 
JUNIPEEUS COMMUNIS. 
 
 Common Juniper. 
 
 PLATE XLiv:^ 
 
 A HE prostrate variety of the common Juniper 
 is so peculiar in its mode of growth, that it has 
 some claims to he considered a distinct species. 
 On comparing it, however, with European speci- 
 mens, I find the similarity so great, that I do not 
 see sufficient grounds for separating it, especially 
 as there are, in Europe, several varieties in size 
 and mode of growth, which are not recognized as 
 separate species. The variety, which is the only 
 one I have met with in the Northern States, is a 
 large trailing shrub, continually throwing out 
 roots from its branches, and spreading in all 
 directions until it forms beds, which are many 
 rods in circumference. In this way it continues 
 to advance outward, supporting itself by new 
 roots even after the original trunks, at the centre, 
 
 * Very beautiful drawings, froui which this and the following 
 plate are engraved, were sent me by a lady in Hampshire county. 
 
44 JUNIPERUS COMMUNIS. 
 
 are dead and decayed. It seldom rises more thaii 
 two or three feet from the ground. 
 
 The genus Juniperus belongs to the class 
 Dioecia, order Monadelphia, and natural order 
 Coniferce of Linnaeus and Jussieu. It is distin- 
 guished by an ovate anient with peltate scales, 
 which, in the barren flowers, are whorled in threes^ 
 with from two to four anthers ; in the fertile ones 
 opposite. Berry three seeded^^-^ln the common 
 Juniper, the leaves are ternate^ spreading^ mucro^ 
 nate, larger than the herry. 
 
 The Juniper is with us always a shrub, never 
 rising into a tree. The tips of the branches are 
 smooth and angular. The leaves grow in threes 
 and are linear-acerose, sharply mucronate, shining 
 green on their lower surface, but with a broad 
 glaucous line through the centre of the upper. 
 These leaves, however, are always resupinate, and 
 turn their upper surface toward the ground. 
 The barren flowers grow in small axillary aments, 
 with roundish, acute, stipitate scales, inclosing 
 several anthers. The fertile flov/ers, growing on 
 a separate shrub, have a small, three parted calyx 
 growing to the germ ; and three styles. The fruit 
 is a fleshy, roundish, oblong berry, of a dark 
 purplish colour, formed of the germ and conflu- 
 ent calyx, marked with three prominences or 
 
COMMON JUNIPER. 45 
 
 resides at top, and containing three seeds. It 
 requires two seasons to arrive at maturity from 
 the flower. 
 
 The leaves of the Juniper have a strong and 
 rather unpleasant taste, with a little astringency. 
 The peculiar juice of the bark appears to consist 
 of resin and volatile oil. Gum Sandarach, which 
 fns'nishes the material of pounce, is obtained from 
 the European Juuiper, from which it exudes 
 spontaneously through crevices and perforations 
 in the bark. 
 
 The part principally used in medicine is the 
 berries. These have a strong peculiar taste, 
 accompanied with considerable sweetness. When 
 long chewed, they leave an impression of bitter- 
 ness. The sweetness appears to reside in the 
 pulp, the bitterness in the seeds, or in their im- 
 mediate investment, and the aromatic flavour in 
 the essential oil.. Dr. Lewis observes, that tinc- 
 tures, made with these berries, differ according 
 as they are prepared with the berries entire or 
 bruised. 
 
 When of a good quality these berries yield, in 
 distillation, a large quantity of pungent, volatile 
 oil of a peculiar flavour, the same which it com- 
 municates to gin. The medicinal powers, for 
 which this article is employed, may be considexed 
 as residing in this oil. 
 
^^. JUNIPERUS COMMUNIS, 
 
 The berries of the Juniper have long been 
 employed for the purposes of a diuretic, particu- 
 larly in dropsy. Many of the older writers, whose 
 names are of high authority in medicine, have 
 given favorable reports of the operation of this 
 medicine in hydropic cases. It has been used in 
 substance, in infusion, and in various compound 
 medicines. The effects of its most popular prepara- 
 tion, that of an ardent spirit, are too universally 
 known to require particular ekicidation. In addi- 
 tion to the specific effect of the essential oil, 
 some physicians have attributed virtues to the 
 rob, or inspissated decoction of the berries. Hoff- 
 man found it of great use in debility of the stomach 
 and intestines, particularly in old people. The 
 stronger preparations have been found useful in 
 uterine obstructions, and in paralytic affections of 
 the vesica urinaria. 
 
 Linnseus informs us, in his Flora Lapponica, 
 that a fermented decoction of Juniper berries is 
 used in Sweden as a common drink, but he denies 
 the infusion being substituted for tea and coffee, 
 as some writers have stated, in Lapland. Wood- 
 ville and others have misquoted him on this 
 point. 
 
 The American Juniper berries are considera* 
 bly inferior to the European in strength and 
 
COMMON JUNIPER. 47 
 
 flavour. The best of the latter are said to be 
 from Italy. But of the imported specimens, 
 which I have examined at the druggists' shops 
 in this country, very few possess any remains of 
 the original strength, and much the greater 
 portion of them appear to have undergone at 
 least one distillation, before their exportation from 
 Europe. The best Juniper berries have a strong 
 impregnation of volatile oil, which, having been 
 once tasted, cannot be easily mistaken. Those 
 which have been subjected to distillation are dry 
 and tasteless. 
 
 BOTANICAL BEFERENCES. 
 
 Juniperus communis, Linn. — Smith, Flor. Brit. iii. 1085. — EngL 
 Bot. t 1100. — WooDviLLE, ii. t. 95. — Michaux, ii. 245. — .Pursh, ik 
 646. — Blackwell, t. 187. 
 
 MEDICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 MuiiRAY, Jlp2J. Med. i. 34. — Lewis, Disp, 240. — Linnaeus, Flora 
 Lapj). 376. — WooDviLLE, ut supra. 
 
48 JUNIPERUS COMMUNIS, 
 
 PLATE XLIV. 
 
 Fig. 1. A hrancli ofJuniperiis communis in fniih 
 
 Fig. 2. A barren twig in flower. 
 
 Fig;. 3. Barren ament. 
 
 Fig. 4. Scale of anthers of the same-. 
 
 Fig. 5. ' Fertile flower. 
 
JUNIPERUS VIRGINIANA. 
 
 Red Cedar, 
 PLATE XLV. 
 
 Unlike the subject of the preceding article, 
 this species rises into a tree of considerable size. 
 It is the largest of the Junipers growing within 
 the original limits of the United States, though 
 it appears that Lewis and Clarke brought home 
 specimens of a loftj tree, with foliage resembling 
 the Savin, found on the banks of streams among 
 the Rocky mountains, and which is supposed to 
 be the same with J. excelsa, growing in Siberia. 
 
 Michaux, in his North American Sjlva, in- 
 forms us, that it is found from Maine and from 
 Lake Champlain, without interruption to the 
 Cape of Florida. In the Middle and Northern 
 states, it frequents the most barren soils, being 
 found in abundance upon dry, rocky hills, where 
 scarcely any other tree can subsist. Its size, 
 however, is said to be here inferior to that which 
 it attains in Virginia, and farther south. 
 
50 JUNIPEllUS VIRGINIANA. 
 
 Its habit and foliage abundantly distinguish it 
 from the species in the last article. From the 
 Juniperus Sabina, or common Savin of Europe, 
 its botanical distinction is by no means easy. 
 The general appearance and arrangement of the 
 leaves in the full grown specimens of both is 
 precisely the same, except that in the Red cedar 
 the leaves are shorter and more compactly im- 
 bricated, having an ovate form, while in the 
 Savin they are somewhat longer and more remote, 
 and may be called lanceolate. In the Red cedar 
 they are also more universally and pungently 
 acute. The characters of the latter species, 
 which I have seen given by different botanists, 
 are almost all defective, in ascribing to it ternate 
 kaves, which, I believe, never exist except in 
 imperfect or distorted specimens. Its more true 
 .character is as follows. Trunk arboreous, upper 
 leaves imbricated in four rows, ovate, pungently 
 acute. It is by no means certain that on mature 
 examination all the present species of Juniper 
 will be found sufficiently distinct to be kept 
 separate. 
 
 The Red cedar, when full grown, is a middling 
 sized tree, though, on account of the value of its 
 wood, it is seldom suffered to reach its full dimen- 
 sions. The trunk is straight and decreases rapidly 
 
IIED CEDAR. 51 
 
 from the ground, giving off many horizontal 
 branches. Its surface is generally unequal, and 
 disfigured by knots, and the crevices and protu- 
 berances they occasion. The small twigs are cov 
 - ered with minute, densely imbricated leaves, which 
 continue to increase in size as the branch groAVS, 
 till they are broken up and confoundetl with the 
 rough bark. These leaves are fleshy, ovate, con- 
 cave, rigidly acute, marked, with a small depressed 
 gland on tlie middle of their outer side, growing 
 in pairs, which are united at base to each other, 
 and to the pairs above and below them. They do 
 not alter their situation, but continue opposite till 
 they are obliterated by age. A singular variety 
 sometimes appears in the young shoots, especially 
 those which issue from the base of the trees. This 
 consists in an elongation of the leaves to five or 
 six times their usual length, while they become 
 spreading, acerose, considerably remote from each 
 other, and irregular in their insertion, being 
 either opposite or ternate. These shoots are so 
 dissimilar to the parent tree that they have 
 repeatedly been mistaken for individuals of a 
 different species. — The barren flowers grow in 
 small oblong aments, formed by peltate scales 
 with the anthers concealed within them. The 
 fertile flawers have a proper perianth, which 
 
53 JUNIPERUS yiRGINlANA, 
 
 coalesces with the germ and forms a small round- 
 ish berry, Avith two or three seeds, covered on its 
 outer surface with a bright blue powder. 
 
 The leaves of the Red cedar have a strong 
 disagreeable taste, with some pungency and 
 bitterness. The peculiar taste and odour reside, 
 no doubt, in a volatile oil, which, however, is 
 not readily separated by distillations in a small 
 way. The tincture becomes turbid ^vhen water 
 is added, and very much so if suffered to stand 
 a day or two. The presence of tannin is devel- 
 oped by the admixture of dissolved isinglass, >vith 
 a decoction of the bark and leaves. 
 
 The botanical similarity of this tree to the 
 Savin, which is an European shrub, has already 
 been mentioned. In their sensible and medicinal 
 properties, they are equally allied. The taste of 
 the two species is nearly the same, except that 
 the cedar leaves are the more nauseous of the 
 two. As the American tree is frequently known 
 throughout the country by the name of Savin, our 
 apothecaries have been led to presume upon its 
 identity with that medicine, and it has long been 
 used in cases where the true Savin is recom- 
 mended. Its most frequent use, however, is in 
 the composition of the cerate employed for keep- 
 ing up the irritation and discharge of blisters. 
 
RED CEDAR. 52 
 
 This preparation is the same with the Savin 
 cerate, used in Europe, the leaves of the Red 
 cedar being substituted for those of the Savin. 
 When properly prepared by boiling the fresh 
 leaves for a short time in about twice their weight 
 of lard with the addition of a little wax, a cerate 
 is formed of • peculiar efficacy as a perpetual 
 epispastic. When applied as a dressing to a 
 newly vesicated surface, and afterwards repeated 
 twice a day, it rarely fails to keep up the dis- 
 charge for an indefinite length of time. Under 
 its operation, the discharge usually changes from 
 a serous to a puriform appearance, and concretes 
 upon the surface ; so that it requires to be re- 
 moved from time to time, to admit the full action 
 of the cerate. 
 
 Internally the leaves of the Juniperus Virgin- 
 iana have been found to exert effects very similar 
 to those of the Savin. They have proved useful 
 as an emmenagogue, and as a general stimulant 
 and diaphoretic in rheumatism. They have also 
 liad some reputation as a diuretic in dropsy. 
 
 The wood of the Red cedar is smooth, light, 
 and \evj durable. Its alburnum is white, but 
 the heart wood of a beautiful red colour, whence 
 its name is derived. It is principally employed 
 for posts in fences, in which capacity it proves 
 
54! JUNIPERUS VIRGINIANA. 
 
 more du-able than almost any species of wood 
 used for the same purpose. 
 
 BOTANICAIi REFERENCES. 
 
 Juniperus Virginiana, Willd. iv. 8€2,— -!Pursh, ii. 647.— Mi- 
 CHAuXjjfiL JV. d. Sylva, t. 155. 
 
 MEDICAL REFERENCE, 
 
 Thacher, Disp. 247. 
 
 PLATE XLV. 
 
 Fig. 1. Juniperus Virginiana in fruit. 
 Fig. 2. Variety with long leaves. 
 Fig. 3. Barren branch in flower. 
 Fig. 4. Barren anient magnified, 
 Fiff. 5. Scale and anthers. 
 
7V. 
 
 mm^ 
 
 ._ ^5^y2^<//^^/Z^7^^ii? ,6^tA?ti^^^a^ 
 
 
 ir I 
 
MENYANTHES TRIFOLIATA. 
 
 Buck Bean, 
 
 PLJITE XLVI. 
 
 J. HE Bnch bean or Marsh Trefoil is one of 
 those plants which are native in Europe and 
 North America, with so little difference of struc- 
 ture, in tlie two continents, that their specific 
 identity can hardly be doubted. I have com- 
 pared specimens of the native, and foreign plant, 
 without being able to perceive the least definable 
 difference, except in size ; the American being 
 smaller. Yet, if we admit the statements of 
 botanical writers, the plant flowers in England at 
 least a month later than it does in the neigh- 
 bourhood of Boston, a circumstance not usual in 
 otlier species of vegetables. 
 
 The most spongy and boggy soils, which are 
 inundafed at certain seasons, and never wholly 
 destitute of water, are the favorite situations of the 
 Menyanthes trifoliata. It often constitutes large 
 
56 MENYANTHES TRIFOJLIATA, 
 
 beds at the margin of ponds and brooks. It is 
 common in New England, and grows, according 
 to Pursh, as far south as Virginia. 
 
 The genus Meiiyanthes has its corolla hairy 
 on the upper side; stigma bifid; capsule one 
 celled, two valved. The species in the present 
 article is named from its ternate leaves. Class 
 Pentandria. Order Monogynia. INatm^al orders 
 Motacew, Lin. Gentianm, Juss. 
 
 The root of this plant penetrates horizontally 
 in the bog-earth to a great distance. It is regu- 
 larly intersected with joints at the distance of 
 about half an inch from each other, these joints 
 being formed by the breaking off of the old pe- 
 tioles and their sheaths. The leaves proceed from 
 the end of the root on long stalks furnished with 
 broad sheathing stipules at base. They are tri- 
 foliate, nearly oval, glabrous, somewhat fleshy, 
 and slightly repand, or furnished with many 
 irregularities at the edge, which hardly prevent 
 them from being entire. The scape is round, 
 ascending and smooth, bearing a conical raceme 
 of flowers. Peduncles straight, scattered, sup- 
 ported by ovate concave bractes. Calyx erect, 
 subcampanulate, five parted, persistent. Corolla 
 funnel shaped, the tube short, the border five 
 cleft, spreading and at length revolute, clothed on 
 
fiUCK BEAN. 57 
 
 the upper part with a coating of dense, fleshy, 
 obtuse fibres. The colour, in the American va- 
 riety, is generally white, with a tinge of red, par- 
 ticularly on the outside. Stamens five, shorter 
 than the corolla, and alternate with its segments ; 
 the anthers oblong-arrow shaped. Germ ovate ; 
 style cjiindrical, persistent, as long as the corolla ; 
 stigma bifid, compressed. Capsule ovate, two 
 valved, one celled. Seeds numerous, minute, 
 attached to two lateral receptacles. 
 
 In New England this plant flowers about the 
 middle of May. 
 
 The whole plant and particularly the root has 
 an intensely bitter taste, hardly exceeded by that 
 of Gentian and Columbo. This bitterness resides 
 chiefly in an extractive matter, soluble in watei* 
 and spirit. The root is, however, resinous and 
 impregnates alcohol more strongly than water, 
 and may be precipitated from its tincture, in part, 
 by the latter fluid. 
 
 The root of this vegetable is undoubtedly 
 entitled to a high place in the list of tonics. In 
 Europe it has lorsg been admitted to a place in 
 the Materia Medica, and has received the com- 
 mendations of various physicians. When given 
 in small doses, about ten grains, it imparts vigour 
 to the stomach and strengthens digestion. Its 
 8 
 
88 MENYANTHES TRIPOLIATA. 
 
 tincture, moderately used, has the same effect. 
 Large doses, such as a drachm of the powdered 
 root, or two or three gills of the saturated decoc- 
 tion, produce vomititig and purging, and fre- 
 quently powerful diaphoresis. In this respect it 
 agrees with many vegetahle bitters, and perhaps 
 resembles most nearly the Eupatorium perfolia- 
 tum. Its bulk, however, and unpleasant taste 
 render it inconvenient to be used as an evacuant. 
 We are told by authors that the Buck bean 
 has been employed with benefit in intermittent 
 and remittent fevers. Boerhaave, in his own case 
 of gout, was relieved by drinking the juice of the 
 plant mixed with whey. Other physicians have 
 found it useful in keeping off the paroxysms of 
 that complaint. Dr. CuUen informs us, that he 
 has " had several instances of its good effects in 
 some cutaneous diseases of the herpetic or seem- 
 ingly cancerous kind. It was taken by infusion 
 in the manner of tea." Others have commended 
 this vegetable in rheumatism, dropsy, scurvy and 
 worms. Its reputation in the IN^orth of Europe, 
 particularly in Germany, was at one time so high, 
 that it was consumed in large quantities, and 
 deemed a sort of panacea. Its true character, 
 however, is simply that of a powerful bitter tonic, 
 like Gentian and Centaury, to which it is closely 
 
BUCK BEAN. 5^, 
 
 related in its botanical habit, as well as sensible 
 properties. 
 
 We may regard this plant as one of the 
 numerous vegetable bitters abounding in our 
 country, which are fully equal in strength to 
 imported articles of their class, and which may 
 hereafter lessen our dependance on foreign 
 drugs. 
 
 Linnseus, in his Flora Lapponica, informs us^ 
 that in times of scarcity, sheep will subsist upon 
 this plant, notwithstanding its bitterness. The 
 Laplanders employ it as a substitute for hops to 
 prevent acescency in their beer. They even 
 introduce it in some instances into their bread, 
 upon which Linnseus bestows the epithet, " ama= 
 rus et detestabilis." 
 
 BOTANICAL REFERENCES, 
 
 Menyanthes trifoliata, Linn. Sp. pi. — QEder. Flora Ban. t. SAlt 
 — Curtis, Flov. Lond. 4. t 17. — Woodville, Med. Bot. t. 2. — 
 Smith, Engl. Bot. t. 495. — Michaux, Flora, i. 1 25. — Pursh, i. 139. — 
 Menyanthes palustre triphyllum, Ray. Syn. 285. — Trifolium palu<- 
 dosum, Gerard, em. 1194. 
 
 MEDICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 Murray, Apparatus med. ii. 33. — Linn^us, Fl. Lap. 50. — Hal- 
 LER, Hist. Stirp. Helv. 633. — Cullen, Mat.Med.u, 53. — Thomeson, 
 Lond. Disp. 9,5Q. 
 
00 MENYANTHES TRIFOLIATA^ 
 
 PLATE XLVI. 
 
 Fig. 1. Menyanthes trifoliata^ 
 
 Fig. 2. Calyx. 
 
 Fig. 3. Petal 
 
 Fig. 4. Stamen^ 
 
 Fig. 5. Style, 
 
 T'm, 6. Fruit* 
 
/'/. Xf.VIl ■ 
 
 '^M^^ 
 
 '%\ 
 
 Nv>' Ni 
 
 m 
 
 ^/r/y/rr//r/r^/^'^ /V//4*//'/'^ 
 
RANUNCULUS BULBOSUS. 
 
 Bulbous Crowfoot. 
 
 PLATE XLVIL 
 
 J.T is a remarkable fact that a great portion 
 of the weeds, which are most troublesome in the 
 United States, are of European origin, having 
 intruduced themselves since the discovery of th^s 
 country. Some of these emigrants have settled 
 in our grazing and mowing lands, such as the 
 Ranunculus bulbosus, acris and repens, indis- 
 criminately called Buttercups, Crowfoot, and 
 Tellow weed; the Chrysanthemum leucanthe- 
 mum, or White weed; the Rumex acetosella, or 
 Sorrel; the Hypericum perforatum, or St. John^s 
 wort, ^c. In our cornfields and gardens are 
 quartered the Couch grass, Triticum repens , the 
 different species of Goosefoot or Pig weed, Che- 
 nopodium ; the Bock, Rumex crispus, ^c. ; the 
 Charlock or Wild Radish, Raphanus Raphanis- 
 trum j Burdock, Arctium lappa, ^'c. Some have 
 
62 RANUNCULUS BULEOSUS. 
 
 commenced their inroads within a few years, such 
 as the Cnicus arvensis, improperly called Canada 
 thistle ; the Genista tinctoria or Byer^s weed, §c. 
 — In retnrn for these introductions, we have sent 
 them the Erigeron Canadense, and the prolific 
 families of Ambrosia and Amaranthus. 
 
 No race of plants is more familiarly known 
 than the Eanunculi. Of numerous species, both 
 native and imported, which we possess ; several 
 resemble each other so nearly, as to pass with 
 common observers for the same plant. The 
 great similarity of their properties renders it 
 almost unnecessary in a medical or economical 
 point of view to distinguish them. I have selected 
 the bulbous-rooted species, not because it is more 
 active in its properties than many others, but 
 because it is one of the most common and best 
 known. 
 
 The genus belongs to the class Polyandria, 
 and order Foly^ynia. It is found in the natural 
 orders Multisiliquoe, Linn, and Banimculacew, 
 Juss. Its generic character is formed by a jive 
 leaved calyoc ; five petals, with a melliferous pore 
 at the base of each ; the seeds naked. No genus 
 can be more strictly natural than this. A general 
 resemblance pervades the whole of the species, 
 which indicates their consanguinity at sight. 
 
BULBOUS CROWFOOT. 63 
 
 The nectary, the never failing concomitant of this 
 genus, is a small cavity at the inside of the claw 
 of each petal, generally covered by a flat scale, 
 sometimes surrounded with a concave brim, and 
 at others inclosed in a short cylinder. A subtle 
 and violent acrimony, on which the medical 
 properties seem to depend, is found in most, if 
 not in all, of the species. 
 
 The species bulbosiis has coinpoimd leaves^ 
 mi erect many flowered stem^ a furroived peduncle^ 
 rejlejoed calyiv, and bulbous root. It grows gen- 
 erally in dry pastures, mowing lands and road sides, 
 flowering abundantly in May and the first part of 
 June, after which it gives place to its equally 
 abundant successors, E. acris and repens, which, 
 however, generally prefer a more moist soil. 
 These three species, having flowers of similar 
 size and appearance, are indiscriminately known 
 by the name of Buttercups. Then* distinction 
 affords a pleasing instance of different combina- 
 tions of features, forming separate characters for 
 similar plants. The R. bulbosus has a furrowed 
 flower-stalk and reflexed calyx ; B. repens a 
 furrowed flower-stalk and spreading calyx, and 
 B,. acris a round flower-stalk and spreading 
 calyx. 
 
6# RANUNCULUS BULBOSUS. 
 
 A more particular description of the plant in 
 our figure is as follows. Boot fleshy, solid, 
 roundish, depressed, sending out radicles from 
 its under side. In autumn it gives off lateral 
 bulbs near its top, which afford plants for the 
 next year, while the old root decays. Stems 
 several, erect, round, hairy, branching. Root 
 leaves on long petioles, tern ate, sometimes 
 quinate ; the segments variously cut, lobed and 
 toothed ; hairy. Stem leaves sessile, temate, the 
 upper ones more simple. Flowers several on a 
 stem, solitary, of a bright glossy yellow. Pedun- 
 cles furrowed, angular, hairy. Calyx leaves 
 oblong, hairy, bent back against the peduncle. 
 Petals five, inversely heart shaped ; the nectary 
 at the claw covered with a small wedge-shaped 
 emarginate scale. Stamens numerous, yellow, 
 with oblong erect anthers. Germs numerous 
 with reflexed stigmas. Fruit a spherical head 
 composed of acute, naked, diverging seeds with 
 recurved points. 
 
 The roots of Ranunculus bulbosus appear to 
 consist principally of albumen intermixed with 
 ligneous fibres. If the root be macerated in cold 
 water, it gives a solution of this substance, which 
 coagulates in flocks on the application of heat; 
 and undergoes the same process slowly on the 
 
BULBOUS CROWFOOT. Q5 
 
 admixture of alcohol. But the most interestinar 
 constituent in this, and in most other species, is 
 the acrid principle which pervades every part of 
 the plant in its green state. Like the acrimony 
 of the Arum, it is volatile, and disappears in dry- 
 ing, or upon the application of heat. It differs, 
 however, in not being destroyed by a moderate 
 heat, and in being fully preserved in distillation. 
 I have subjected various species of Ranunculus 
 to this experiment, and always found the distilled 
 water to possess a strong acrimony ; while the 
 decoction and portions of the plant remaining in 
 the retort were wholly destitute of this property. 
 This distilled water, when first taken into the 
 mouth, excited no particular effect ; but after 
 a few seconds a sharp, stinging sensation was 
 always produced. When swallowed, a great 
 sense of heat took place in the stomach. I pre- 
 served some of the water distilled from leaves of 
 Eanunculus repens, for several months in a close 
 stopped pliial ; during which time it retained its 
 acrimony undiminished. In winter time it froze, 
 and on thawing had lost this property. Tilebein, 
 as quoted by I)r. Pulteney, in some experiments 
 on this genus of plants, found that water distilled 
 from a. sceleratus, on cooling, deposited small 
 crystals, which were hardly soluble in any men- 
 
66 RANUNCULUS BULBOSUS. 
 
 struum, and were of an inflammable natm^e. 1 
 have not met with an appearance of this kind. 
 The distilled water, however, had a substance 
 dissolved in sufficient quantity to yield a gradual 
 precipitate with some reagents, such as muriate 
 of tin and acetate of lead. The strength of the 
 distilled water is impaired by continuing the 
 op? ration too long. 1 he acrimony of the plant 
 is expended in a very short time at the boiling 
 heat, and a farther continuance of the distillation 
 brings over only water. 
 
 Since the time of Dioscorides [JVofe A.] the 
 acrid and stimulating properties of the Ranunculi 
 have been well known. This acrimony resides 
 in all the species, with the exception of JR. aiivi- 
 comus, which is said to be mild, and perhaps two 
 or three others. It is so powerful that it speed- 
 ily inflames or corrodes the lips and tongue, if 
 kept in contact with them. In the nostrils it 
 acts as a violent sternutatory, and if swallowed in 
 considerable quantity, it brings on great pain, 
 heat and inflammation of the stomach, and has 
 even occasioned convulsions and death. 
 
 Before the introduction of Cantharides as a 
 vesicatory, different species of Ranunculus were 
 used upon the skin, as external stimulants. 
 Their power of occasioning erosion and ulceration 
 
BULBOUS CROWFOOT. 67 
 
 appears to have been known to the ancients. 
 Different medical writers have given accounts of 
 their mode of operation ; but the most extensive 
 history and investigation is that of Krapf, pub- 
 lished at Vienna, in 1766. This work, which I 
 have not seen, is quoted in all its principal facts 
 by Professor Murray of Gftttingen in the Appara- 
 tus medicaminum. According to this author the 
 various species, with which his experiments were 
 made, proved capable of exciting inflammation, 
 blistering and ulceration, when applied to the 
 skin. A slice of the fresh root of R. bulbosus 
 placed in contact with the inside of the finger, 
 brought on a sense of burning in two minutes. 
 When taken off, the skin was found without red- 
 ness, and the sense of heat and itching ceased. 
 In two hours, however, it returned again, and in 
 ten hours a full serous blister was raised. This 
 was followed bv an ulcer of bad character and 
 difficult to heal. He remarks that, if the appli- 
 cation is continued after the first itching, the 
 pain and subsequent erosion is much greater. 
 From the accounts given of this species, also 
 of R. sceleratus, H. acris, and some others, it 
 appears that the leaves, flowers, buds, or roots of 
 these plants, if bruised and applied to the skin, 
 excite redness and vesication. This effect is not 
 
&8 RANUNCULUS BULBOSUS. 
 
 constant, but fails to take place in certain con- 
 stitutions or at certain seasons of the year, 
 (xenerally, however, they are said to operate in 
 half an hour, or less, from the time of their appli- 
 cation. They are stated to possess the advantage 
 over blisters made by flies, that they never occa- 
 sion symptoms of strangui'y. 
 
 With a view to their external stimulus they 
 have been used advantageously in rheumatism, 
 the hip disease, hemicrania, and fixed pains of 
 various descriptions. Among the old practition- 
 ers, who have recorded instances of their effects, 
 are Baglivi, Storck, and Sennertius. A curious 
 practice, at one time, prevailed in several coun- 
 tries in Europe, of applying the Ranunculus to 
 the wrists or fingers, for the cure of intermittent 
 fever. This is mentioned by Yan Swieten, Tissot, 
 and some others. In hemicrania it was applied 
 to the head, and in this case it did not produce a 
 discharge, nor break the skin ; but occasioned 
 tumefaction of the hairy scalp. 
 
 An objection against the use of the Eanunculi, 
 as external stimulants, exists in the uncertainty of 
 their operation, and the violent effects which 
 sometimes have followed after they had been ap- 
 plied. Those writers, who have witnessed their 
 application, record instances in which these vege- 
 
BULBOUS CROWFOOT. 09 
 
 table blisters have been followed by deep, ill- 
 conditioned and slongbiug ulcers, which were not 
 healed without great difficulty. Tissot mentions 
 an instance, in which an application made to the 
 thumb caused a deep, painful ulcer, which pene- 
 trated to the bone, and occupied some months in 
 its cure. In another case the blister spread, in 
 a few hours, over the whole arm, occasioning 
 fever and delirium, and was followed by such a 
 tendency to gangrene, that the limb was with 
 difficulty saved. Chesnau, quoted by Murray, 
 advises that the Eanunculus should be applied 
 to a small surface only, and through a perforation 
 in an adhesive plaister, to prevent it from spread- 
 ing. From want of this caution, he had known 
 extensive inflammation to arise and spread over 
 a greater part of the face, neck, and breast. — 
 Linnseus, in his Flora Suecica, relates that beg- 
 gars, in Sweden, were known to excite ulcerations 
 of their feet with the Eanunculus sceleratus, to 
 assist them in extorting charity from passengers. 
 I know not to what extent the efficacy of the 
 Ranunculi, externally applied, can be depended 
 on. Certain it is that they do not affect all 
 persons alike, and this fact is avowed by those 
 who have used them most. I have repeatedly 
 made applications of the contused roots and 
 
fO RANUNCULUS BULBOSUS. 
 
 leaves of different species to my arm and hand^ 
 and worn them for a dozen hours, without feeling 
 any particular sensation, or perceiving any visible 
 eifect. The rapid drying up of the moisture of 
 the plant seemed to prevent it from acting upon 
 the skin. I am inclined to believe, there is 
 something in the action of these vegetables anal- 
 ogous to that of the poisonous species of Rhus 
 described in this work ; which some individuals, 
 but not all, are susceptible of. The extensive 
 and spreading inflammation, which they occa- 
 sionally produce, resembles more the effect of 
 these shrubs, than of any of the ordinary rube- 
 facients or vesicants. 
 
 The burning sensation which the Ranunculi 
 excite in the mouth when chewed, extends to 
 the stomach if they are swallowed. Krapf states 
 that a small portion of a leaf or flower of R. 
 sceleratus, or two drops of the juice, excited 
 acute pain in the stomach, and a sense of inflam- 
 mation in the throat. He gave a large quantity 
 of the juice to a dog, which brought on vomiting 
 and great distress ; and the animal being killed, 
 was found with the stomacli inflamed and con- 
 tracted, and the pylorus hardly pervious. The 
 same author informs us that dilution greatly 
 diminishes the power of this fluid, so that half a 
 
BULBOUS CROWFOOT. 71 
 
 drachm of the juice, in six ounces of water, may 
 be taken with entire safety. 
 
 Dr. Withering, as quoted by Dr. Pulteney in 
 the Liiinsean transactions, asserts, that the dis- 
 tilh'd water of Ranunculus flammula is an emetic 
 more instantaneous and less offensive than sul- 
 phate of zinc. I know not in what publication of 
 Dr. W. this statement is made, but the fact 
 appears to me not improbable. Acrid substances, 
 sucli as mustard, pepper, and horse-radish, if 
 swallowed in large quantities, excite the stomach 
 to relieve itself by vomiting. An objection, 
 however, exists against the distilled water, owinsc 
 to the uncertainty of its strength ; which must 
 vary in proportion to the quantity of the plant 
 employed, the time occupied in distillation, and 
 the subsequent time for which the fluid is kept. 
 
 Krapf states that R. auricomus and R. lanugi- 
 nosus are so free from acrimony, that they are 
 eaten as greens or sallads. All the species lose 
 their pungency in boiliog, so that even the R. 
 sceleratus, one of the most acrid, is used for the 
 same purpose. 
 
 Grazing cattle generally avoid the plants of 
 this genus, which grow among grass, as far as 
 it is possible for them to do it. Accordingly we 
 observe the flowers of Ranunculi left untouched. 
 
f^ llANUNCULUS BULBOSUS. 
 
 while the grass is closely cropped around them. 
 It is nevertheless unavoidable, so common are 
 these plants, that portions of them should be 
 eaten very often by these animals. It is probable 
 that small quantities of the less acrid sorts do 
 them no injury. At least, it appears that their 
 stomachs are much less susceptible to this kind 
 of stimulus than ours. In the Pan Suecus some 
 experiments upon these plants, with domestic 
 animals, are detailed ; in which, it is stated that, 
 horned cattle refused to eat all the species when 
 offered to them, except R. auricomus. This 
 species was rejected by horses, while they would 
 eat R. flammula. Sheep and goats eat the R. 
 acris, one of the most pungent species. Dr. 
 Pulteney states, as a well known fact, that hogs. 
 in England, devour the roots of R. bulbosus. 
 How it is that these animals resist the deleterious 
 effects of so virulent plants, it is not easy to say. 
 It is, however, a not more remarkable fact, than 
 the power of some animals to devour CantharideS 
 and even mineral poisons with impunity.* 
 
 In their dry state, various species of Ranun- 
 culus enter into the composition of hay, particu- 
 larly R. acris. Having lost their acrimony 
 altogether in drying, they are haniiless and 
 probably nutritive. 
 
 * See a notCj vol. i. p. 164. 
 
BULBOUS CROWFOOT. 73 
 
 I)r. Pulteney has published a memoir in the 
 Liiiiiffian transactions on the economical use of 
 some of the Ranunculi, particularly the R. fluvia- 
 tilis, which he considers a variety of R. aquatilis. 
 Contrary to the common effects of the other 
 species, this plant is said, by him, to be not only 
 imiocent, but highly nutritive to cattle. He states 
 that, " in the neighbourhood of Ringwood, on the 
 borders of the Avon, which affords this vegetable 
 in great abundance all the year, some of the 
 cottagers sustain their cows, and even horses/ 
 almost wholly upon this plant ; since the remain- 
 ing part of their food is nothing more than a 
 scanty pittance, they get on the adjacent heath, 
 which affords little more than Ling, Lichen, Bog- 
 moss or Sphagnum, ^c. It is usual to employ 
 a man to collect a quantity for the day every 
 morning, and bring it in the boat to the edge of 
 the water, from which the cows, in the instance 
 seen, stood eating it with great avidity. I was 
 indeed informed," says he, " they relished it so 
 highly, that it was unsafe to allow them more 
 than a certain quantity; I think between twenty 
 five and thirty pounds daily, ea* h ; but with 
 variation according to circumstances. The cows 
 I saw were apparently not in a mean condition, 
 
 and gave a sufficient quantity of good milk. I 
 10 
 
74 RANUNCULUS BULBOSUS. 
 
 was told by tlie person whose cattle were feeding 
 on it, that he kept five cows and one horse so 
 entirely on this plant and what the heath afibrded, 
 that they had not consumed half a ton of hay 
 throughout the whole year ; none being used 
 except when the river was frozen over. I exam- 
 ined the whole parcel on which four cows were 
 feeding, in the beginning March, and found the 
 whole consisted exclusively of the Ranunculus 
 fluviatilis without any mixture of the Potamoge- 
 ton, Carex, Sparganium, or other aquatic plants. 
 In summer, however, it can hardly be avoided 
 but that there must be a mixture of some of these, 
 but other plants are not chosen. 
 
 " This account was confirmed to me by dififer- 
 ent persons ; by whom I was further informed 
 that hogs are also fed with the same plant, on 
 which they improve so well, that it is not neces- 
 sary to allow them other sustenance, till it is 
 proper to put them up to fatten." 
 
 In Veterinary practice the Ranunculus bul- 
 bosus has been employed as an external stimu- 
 lant. To this purpose Dr. Chapman, in his 
 Therapeutics, thinks it may be better adapted 
 than other topical excitants. 
 
BULBOUS CROWFOOT. 75" 
 
 BOTANICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 Ranunculus bulbosus, Linn. Sp. pi. — Curtis, Flora Lond. i. 38. 
 — Mautyn, F/ora rziSitica, f. 28. — Smith, Flora Britt. 591. — Engl. 
 Bot. t. 515. — MicHAUx, i. 321. — Pursh, ii. 393. — Ranunculus tube- 
 rosus magor, J. Bauhin, iii. 417". — Ranunculus pratensis, &c,— 
 (Eder, FL Dan. t. 515. 
 
 MEDICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 Murray, Apparatus, Med. iii. 88. — Krapf. Ranunculi. Vienna, 
 1 766,— Lewis, Mat. Med. ii. 262.— B. S. Barton, 23.— Pulteney, 
 Lin. transactions, v. 14. — Chapman, Therapeutics, ii. 411. 
 
 PLATE XL VII. 
 
 Fig. 1. Ranunculus bulbosus, the radical leaf of the largest size 
 
 and more subdivided than common. ^ 
 
 Fig. 2. Radical leaf of siualler size and more common shape. 
 Fig. 3. Petal and nectary. 
 Fig. 4. Two stamens enlarged. 
 Fig. 5. Fruit. 
 
ILLICIUM FLOEIDANUM, 
 
 Starry Anise, 
 
 TLdTE XLVIII, 
 
 J. HE same qualities which entitle the Lirio- 
 dendron and Magnolias to a place among medi- 
 cinal plants, exist abundantly in the kirtdred genus 
 of lllicium. Ihis familj consists of fine, spicy, 
 flowering shrubs, one of which, the I. anisatum, 
 growing in Eastern Asia, derives its name from 
 the similiarity of its flavour to that of Anise, a 
 quility which exists, though less simple, in the 
 subject of the present article. Another species, 
 the I. parviflorum, a shrub with small yeUowish 
 flowers, first discovered by Michaux in the 
 mountains of Georgia and Carolina, has so 
 exactly the flavour of the Sassafras root, that they 
 are not to be distinguished by the taste. The I. 
 Floridanum forms beautiful thickets in the 
 country bordering on the north of the Gulf of 
 
STARRY ANISE. 77 
 
 Mexico, and is often mentioned by the traveller 
 Bartram, with his accustomed enthusiasm, as one 
 of the chief beauties of that exuberant region. 
 In the Northern states, as well as in Europe, it 
 is preserved by artificial heat. The drawing, 
 which illustrates our description, was made from 
 a greenhouse specimen. 
 
 The character assigned to this genus is 
 formed by a sia? leaved ealya^, twenty seven petals^ 
 and a number^ of capsules arranged in a circle, ttvo 
 valved, one seeded. The species Floridaniim has 
 its leaves acuminate and its petals numerous^ 
 oblong and linear. 
 
 The class and order are Polyandria, Folygy- 
 nia; and the Natural orders Coadunatm, Linn. 
 Magnolias^ Juss. 
 
 The lliicium Floridanum is a shrub, in gome 
 instances entitled to be considered a small tree. 
 Its leaves are scattered, or grow in tufts, on short 
 petioles. They are evergreen, oval lanceolate, 
 slightly acuminate, entire, smooth on both sides, 
 and firm or flesliy. The flower buds proceed from 
 the sides of the branches at the axils of the last 
 year's leaves. The flowers grow on slender, 
 nodding peduncles, an inch or two long. When 
 fully expanded, they are about the size of a dollar, 
 and of a dark, purplish crimson. Calyx deci- 
 
78 ILLTCIUM FLORIDANUM, 
 
 diious. Petals linear, obtuse, in three rows, 
 about nine in a row, the uppermost row ascend- 
 ing, the lowermost descending, and broader of 
 more spatulate. Stamens thirty or more, diverg- 
 ing, flat, depressed with the anthers recurved ; 
 pollen white. Germs a dozen or more, round- 
 ish-rhomboidal, compressed and arranged in a 
 circular manner; styles short, recurved, pubescent 
 on the inside. The fruit, which I have not seen, 
 is represented by authors, as has been stated in 
 the generic character. 
 
 The leaves and young shoots of this species 
 of Starry anise abound in a fine, clear mucilage, 
 which becomes immediately perceptible in the 
 mouth, if these parts are chewed, and which com- 
 municates to water in a short time a ropy con- 
 sistence. This mucilage is separated from the 
 decoction by alcohol in the form of dark brown, 
 tough, stringy coagiila. Muriate of tin causes a 
 precipitate after these coagula are withdrawn, 
 which seems to indicate the presence of extract. 
 Sulphate of iron added to the decoction, coagu- 
 lated the mucus and darkened the colour. I 
 discovered no traces of resin in the portions 
 submitted to experiment, and a strong tincture 
 was not disturbed by water. The trial, howeverj 
 was conducted on a small scale. 
 
STARRY ANISE. 7ff 
 
 The bark and leaves of the lUieium Florida- 
 num are strongly impregnated with a spicy, 
 aromatic taste and smell, approaching that of the 
 Magnolias and Liriodendron, but perhaps more 
 similar to that of some of the pnngent seeds, 
 particularly Anise and Coriander, between which 
 they seem intermediate. This aroma is preserved 
 in the distilled water, and fills the room with its 
 fragrance, while distillation is going on. I was 
 not able in my limited experiments to separate 
 any volatile oil or camphor, on one of which 
 principles, as in similar cases, the aroma doubtless 
 depends. 
 
 An account of this species of lUicium is 
 given, with a figure, in the Philosophical trans- 
 * actions for 1770, by John Eilis^v Esq. He says, 
 "We are indebted for the discovery of this 
 curious American tree to a servant of William 
 Clifton, Esq. of West Florida, who was sent to 
 collect specimens of all the rarer plants by his 
 master ; and in April 176«'J», he met with it growing 
 in a swamp near Pensacola. After this, in the 
 latter end of January 1705, Mr. John Bartram, 
 the king's botanist for the Floridas, discovered it 
 on the banks of the river St. John, in East Florida, 
 as appears from his description of it, and a draw- 
 ing of a seed-vessel with some of the leaves, sent 
 
80 iLLICIUai FLORIDAKUM. 
 
 to Mr. Collinson." Mr. Bartrani's description of it, 
 as it appears in his journal up the river fet. John, 
 published by Dr. Stork, in his account of East 
 Florida, is as follows. "Near here my son found 
 a lovely, sweet tree, with leaves like the sweet 
 bay, which smelled like Sassafras, and produces 
 a strange kmd of seed-pop ; but all the seed was 
 shed. The severe frost had not hurt it ; — some 
 of them grow nearly twenty feet high, a charming 
 bright evergreen aromatic.''* 
 
 Of the medicinal properties of this shrub, I am 
 unable to speak with the certainty, which might 
 have attended an extensive number of trials, mhde 
 with the bark of full grown specimens. From 
 the evidence afforded by the bark and leaves of a 
 o-reenhouse specimen, and by the analogy of other 
 species, and similar trees, I {-hould not feel much 
 hesitation in attributing to the lilicium the prop- 
 erties of a tonic-stimulant and diaphoretic. 1 have 
 at least satisfied myself that the bark of a twig, 
 and three or four of the leaves, produce no un- 
 pleasant consequence. Its bitter taste and aro- 
 matic quality point out its analogy to Cascarilla, 
 Canella, Sassafras, and other aromatic barks, 
 which are regularly consumed in the shops. Its 
 
 * It is very possible the above description may have been in- 
 tended for lilicium parviflorum. 
 
STARRY ANISE. 81 
 
 co-species, the lllicium anisatum of the East, is 
 used as a condiment to communicate an acjreeable 
 flavour to certain dishes. The Chinese chew it 
 after dinner as a stomachic and a SAveetener of 
 the breath. In some parts of the East Indies 
 the natives and Dutch mix it witli their tea and 
 sherbet. It is also burnt as incense before their 
 idols hy some of the oriental nations, and care- 
 fully kept as an antidote to various poisons. 
 
 The beauty of both these shrubs renders them 
 desirable acquisitions to collectors of plants. 
 
 BOTANICAL BEFERENCES. 
 
 lllicium Floridanum, Link. — Curtis, Bot. Mag, L 439.' — Mi< 
 CHAux, i. 526 — PuRSH, ii. 3S0. 
 
 MEDICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 Ellis, in Philosophical transactions abridged, xiii. Sr. f. 2. — 
 
 SCHCETF, 91. 
 
 PLATE XLVIII. 
 
 Fig. 1. lllicium Floridanum. 
 Fig. 2. Several stamens magnified. 
 Fig. 3. Pistils magnified. 
 Fig. 4. ti pistil separate. 
 11 
 
AEISTOLOCHIA SEKPENTAEIA. 
 
 Virginia Snakeroot 
 
 PLATE XLIX.* 
 
 J-T is probable tbat this root, like many other 
 articles now used in medicine, was indebted to its 
 sensible qualities, for its first introduction into 
 use. As the name implies, its earliest medicinal 
 character was founded on a supposed antidotal 
 power against the bite of venomous serpents. 
 Cornutus, at the end of his book on the plants of 
 Canada, published at Paris in 163.^, tells us, that 
 a root had been sent to him from " JSTotha Jlnglia,^^ 
 which was called Serpentaria, and in the vernac- 
 ular tongue Snagrdel. This root was a very sure 
 safeguard against the bite of a huge serpent in 
 that country, which proved inevitably fatal within 
 twelve hours, unless a good portion of the antidote 
 
 * I am indebted to a gentleman in Georgia for the very natural 
 drawing of this plant. 
 
J'L.XLLY 
 
VIRGINIA SNAKEROOT. 83 
 
 was swallowed in season ; which being done, no 
 one was ever known to be in danger of his life 
 from this cause. 
 
 The snagroel has had a great many rivals in 
 the character of specifics against the bite of 
 serpents. So great, indeed, is the number of 
 articles which are called uniformly successful in 
 sucli cases, that we are compelled to believe, that 
 the bite of the rattle snake, and doubtless of 
 other venomous serpents in the country, although 
 attended with severe and alarming consequences, 
 is nevertheless but seldom fatal ; and hence 
 that the honor of proving specific in these cases 
 is one of cheap acquisition. 
 
 The Serpentaria grows in woods in the South- 
 ern and Middle parts of the United States. It 
 bears cultivation in any part of the union, though 
 the most northerly situation, from which 1 have 
 received wild specimens, is the vicinity of New 
 Haven, from which place some living plants were 
 sent to me by Dr. Monson. 
 
 The genus Avistolochia has a monopclalous^ 
 tuhuUir, crooked corolla^ swelling at base, and 
 dilated at the border. Capsule inferior, sia^ celled^ 
 The species Serpentaria has its leaves hearts 
 shaped, oblong, acuminate ; stem Jlextioiis ; pe^ 
 diincles radical. Pursh mentions a variety with 
 
8% ARISTOLOCHIA SERPENTARIA. 
 
 leaves so narrow, as to appear like a distinct 
 species ; the flower, however, being not different. 
 Woodville's figure of our plant has the leaves 
 much too broad for the common habit of the 
 vegetable. 
 
 It belongs to the class Gynandria, order 
 Hea^andria, or more properly Bodecandria, It is 
 one of the few genera placed bj Linuseus in that 
 class which are not of the Orchideous tribe. 
 Natural orders Sarmentacece, Linn. AristolGchiWy 
 Juss. 
 
 This vegetable is humble in its growtli, being 
 most commonly under a foot in height. The 
 root is extremely fibrous, and sends up a number 
 of stems. These are simple or slightly branched, 
 jointed, flexuous, and often of a reddish tinge. 
 The leaves are alternate, on sliort petioles, oblong, 
 entire, acuminate, heart-shaped at base and three 
 nerved. 
 
 The flowers grow close to the ground, like 
 those of Asarum. They have a stiff leathery 
 texture, and a dull brownish purple colour. The 
 peduncle which supports them has one or more 
 leafets, and gradually enlarges into a furrowed 
 obovate germ. The corolla, like others in this 
 singular genus, consists of a long contorted tube, 
 bent in the form of the letter S, swelling at its 
 
VIRGINIA SNAKEROOT. 85" 
 
 two extremities, having its throat surrounded hy 
 ail elevated edge or brim, and its border expanded 
 into a broad irregular margin, forming an upper 
 and under lip, which are closed in a triangular 
 manner in the bud. The anthers are twelve in 
 number, growing in pairs to the sides of the 
 fleshy style, which is situated in the bottom of 
 the corolla, and covered by a firm, spreading 
 convoluted stigma, which extends over the an- 
 thers. The capsule is obovate, six angled, six 
 celled, with numerous small flat seeds. 
 
 Snakeroot has a penetrating, rather agreea- 
 ble, resinous smell, and a pungent bitter taste, 
 resembling somewhat that of the Pinus Canaden- 
 sis, or Hemlock spruce. It communicates its 
 qualities both to spirit and water, but most to the 
 former. 1 subjected a quantity of the root to 
 distillation for one hour, and obtained in the re- 
 ceiver a whitish pearly fluid, very strongly im- 
 pregnated with the aroma, but less bitter than 
 the root. On standing twenty four hours, this 
 fluid deposited round the edges of the surface a 
 considerable number of small white crystals, 
 which proved to be pure camphor. They were 
 inflammable, fusible with a sudden, and volatile 
 with a gradual heat. I perceived no essential 
 oil, though I)r. Lewis informs us, that if the 
 
86 ARISTOIiOCHIA SERPENT ARIA. 
 
 quantity of root, submitted to the operation, be 
 large, there arises a small portion of pale coloured 
 essential oil of a considerable smell but of no very 
 strong taste. There is probably a portion of 
 resin present, as I found that the root, after hav- 
 ing been boiled in water an hour, still impregnated 
 alcohol so as to cause a precipitate with water. 
 The bitterness communicated to the infusion and 
 decoction appears to reside in a variety of extrac- 
 tive matter. 
 
 Medicinally considered, Serpentaria is a tonic, 
 diaphoretic, and in certain cases an antispasmodic 
 and anodyne. It has been abundantly used in 
 fevers of various descriptions, and has been com- 
 mended by a host of medical writers. There is 
 no doubt that it has been injudiciously employed 
 in many cases, in fever attended with an active 
 pulse and inflammatory diathesis. The early 
 stages, also, of febrile diseases rarely admit the 
 exhibition of so decided a stimulant, without 
 injury. But in the advanced stages of fever and 
 those attended with typhoidal symptoms, this 
 medicine is resorted to with great advantage, both, 
 alone and in combinaton with other tonics and 
 stimulants. It is peculiarly useful in supporting 
 the strength, and in allaying the irregular actions 
 which attend great febrile debility, such as 
 
VIRGINIA SNAKEROOT. 87 
 
 subsnltus tendinum, delirium, watchfulness, ^c. 
 Its bitter ingredients, and the camphor which it 
 contains, no doubt contribute to these effects. 
 It is most advantageously given in combination 
 with bark, or with wine and opium. 
 
 Snakeroot is a popular remedy in exanthema- 
 tous disorders as a diaphoretic, being given to 
 keep out the eruption, and to restore it when it 
 has receded. In the latter case its use is doubt- 
 less injudicious, and if it fails to reproduce the 
 eruption, it greatly increases the heat, pain, and 
 restlessness of the patient. It is better in cases 
 where the eruption has receded to the disadvan- 
 tage of the patient, to attempt its restoration by 
 nauseating and saline diaphoretics, and even by 
 a full emetic, than to incur the risk of aggravating 
 the symptoms by a stimulating regimen. 
 
 Dr. Chapman, in hi;^ Therapeutics, considers 
 the Serpentaria as partaking the mixed qualities 
 of a stimulant and tonic, and acting also as a 
 diaphoretic and diuretic. It is peculiarly useful 
 as an auxiliary to the bark. He states, that one 
 .of the more early uses of the medicine was in the 
 cure of intermittent fever. Whether alone it was 
 found adequate to this purpose, does not clearly 
 appear. "It was used by Sydenham in con- 
 junction with wine, to prevent the recurrence of 
 
88 ARISTOLOCHIA SERPENTARIA. 
 
 the paroxysm, and from his account, not without 
 advantage. As a general rule, he says, that in 
 all cases, where it is expedient to combine wine 
 with bark, the effect will be much increased by 
 adding Serpentaria. The correctness of this 
 observation has been fully confirmed by subse- 
 quent experience, and it is now very much the 
 practice to unite the two articles in the low states 
 of disease." 
 
 Dr. Chapman farther states, that though it is 
 doubtful whether the Serpentaria, by itself, will 
 cure ague and fever, it is certainly a powerful 
 assistant to bark, not only in increasing its effi- 
 cacy, but, v/hat is of great consequence, in 
 enabling the stomach to retain the medicine. 
 
 To remittent fever he thinks this medicine 
 better adapted. It has here, in many cases, an 
 indisputable superiority over bark, inasmuch as 
 it is rarely offensive to the stomach, and may be 
 given without injury, in those obscure states of 
 the disease, where the remission is not readily 
 tliscernible. He prefers, in these cases, a com- 
 bination of bark, snakeroot, and soda. 
 
 Snakeroot, he informs us, is much resorted to 
 as a popular remedy in the management of the 
 secondary stages of pleurisy. After bleeding, it 
 is the ordinary practice, in many parts of our 
 
TiRGiNiA snak:eroot. 89 
 
 eountry, to resort to a strong infusion of this 
 article with a view of exciting perspiration. Ca- 
 tarrhs, rheumatisms, and other winter complaints, 
 incident to rustic life, are managed in the same 
 way. In that species of pleui'isy which is properly 
 enough designated hy the epithet bilious, he has 
 repeatedly had occasion to recur to the Serpen- 
 taria, and always with more or less utility. This 
 bilious pleurisy he considers as having all the 
 characters of pneumonic inflammation, with the 
 addition of some of the symptoms incident to au- 
 tumnal fever, such as headach, great gastric dis- 
 tress, and almost always violent vomitings of bile. 
 It differs also from ordinary pleurisy in having less 
 activity of inflammation, and consequently in not 
 bearing the same extent of depletion. The sys- 
 tem, indeed, will often be very evidently depressed 
 by one or two bleedmgs. In this case the practice 
 which has been commonly pursued is, after the 
 removal of a comparatively small portion of blood, 
 and the thorough evacuation of the alimentary 
 canal ; to administer very freely draughts of the 
 infusion of the Serpentaria in order to excite 
 copious diaphoresis. 
 
 Dr. Chapman concludes his remarks on this 
 article, by stating, that it is admirably suited to 
 
 check vomitings, and to tranquillize the stomach, 
 
 13 
 
90 ARISTOLOCHIA SERPENTARIA. 
 
 more particularly in bilious cases. It is given 
 for this purpose in decoction, in the small dose 
 of half an ounce or less at a time, and frequently 
 repeated. 
 
 The most common form of exhibiting snake- 
 root is in infusion, for which purpose half an 
 ounce may be steeped in a pint of boiling water 
 for two hours, in a covered vessel. Of this in- 
 fusion an ounce or two may be taken every three 
 or four hours. Decoction is a less proper mode 
 of preparing this plant, as it tends to dissipate 
 the volatile parts, a portion of which is detained 
 in a state of mixture by the infusion. Sometimes 
 the powder is given in doses of from ten to thirty 
 grains. A tincture of snakeroot is made by di- 
 gesting an ounce of the root in a pound or some- 
 what less of proof spirit. The compound tincture 
 of bark, commonly called Huxham's tincture, 
 contains Serpentaria as one of its ingredients. 
 
 BOTANICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 Aristolochia serpentaria, Linn. Sp. pi. — Walter, Flor. Car. 
 223. — WooDviLLE, ii. 291. t. 106. — ^Michaux, ii. 162. — Pursh, ii. 
 596. — Pistolochia sive Serpentaria Virginiana, &c. — Plukenet, t, 
 148./. 5.— Catesby, Car. i. 29. 
 
yiRGINIA SNAKEROOT. 91 
 
 MEDICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 Murray, ^jpp. Med. i. 348. — Cullen, Mat. Med. ii. 85.— Chap= 
 MAN, Therapeutics, ii. 411. — Lind. Hot climates, 104, 254. 
 
 PLATE XLIX. 
 
 Fig. 1. Jlristolochia serpentaria with the jloioer beginning t& 
 
 expand. 
 Fig. 2. /Slide view of the flower expanded. 
 Fig. 3. Front of ditto. 
 Fig. 4. Longitudinal section of the flower. 
 Fig. 5. Style, anthers, and stigma magnified^ 
 Fig. 6. Fruit. 
 
ALETEIS FAEINOSA. 
 
 Star Grass. 
 
 PLATE L. 
 
 JL KNOW of no plant which surpasses the 
 Alteris farinosa in genuine, intense and perma- 
 nent bitterness. Neither aloes, gentian, nor 
 quassia exceed it in the impression produced on 
 the tongue. It has, on account of this property, 
 attracted the observation of some medical men, 
 and may hereafter become an article of more 
 consequence in the Materia Medica. Although 
 the number of trials, hitherto made, are perhaps 
 not sufficient to fix with precision its exact char- 
 acter, yet in a collection of American medicinal 
 vegetables it ought not to pass unnoticed. 
 
 This plant grows in most parts of the United 
 States in fields and about the edges of woods, and 
 flowers in June and July. I have found it near 
 Boston on the south, but never to the north of it. 
 
JPI.Z.. 
 
 jinjii.ii^:;-n 
 
 /? 
 
 frrY-^j y^/'/ rv //t^^ijry 
 
STAR GRASS, 93 
 
 Its mode of growth is not without beauty, the 
 leaves spreading close to the ground in a radiated 
 manner, like a star ; while the spike is supported 
 by an almost naked stalk, at a distance above 
 them. Tile names Star Grass and Blazing star 
 are generally given to it in the country, from the 
 peculiar appearance of its leaves. 
 
 The genus Aletris has its corolla tiihiilar^ sice 
 cleft, wrinkled, persistent ; stamens inserted into 
 the base of the segments ; style triangular, separa- 
 ble into three ; capsule opening at top, three celled, 
 many seeded. The species farinosa, called alba 
 by Michaux and Pursh, has its fiowers pedicelled, 
 oblong-tubular, somewhat wrinkled in fruit ; the 
 leaves broad lanceolate. Michaux observes that 
 of the species referred by Linnseus to this genus, 
 the A. farinosa is the only one which strictly 
 belongs to it. Class Heocandria ; order Monogy- 
 nia; natural orders Liliacew, Linn. Jlsphodeli, 
 Juss. 
 
 This plant has a single circle of radical leaves, 
 which are sessile, nerved, lanceolate, and smooth. 
 The stem or scape is from one to three feet high, 
 invested with remote scales, which sometimes 
 expand into small leaves. The flowers form a 
 slender, scattered spike with Yevy short pedicels 
 and minute bractes. Calvx none. Corolla white, 
 
94/ ALETRIS FARINOSA. 
 
 of an oblong bell-shape, divided at the mouth into 
 six acute, spreading segments. The outside, 
 particularly as the flower grows old, has a rough- 
 is h, wrinkled or mealy appearance, by which the 
 specific name was suggested. The stamens are 
 short, inserted near the mouth of the corolla at 
 the base of the segments. The circumstance 
 of their being opposite to the segments, and not 
 alternate with them, affords the most distinguish- 
 ing mark of this genus. The anthers are some- 
 what heart-shaped. Grerm pyramidal, half infe- 
 rior, tapering : style triangular, separable into 
 three. Capsule invested with the permanent 
 corolla, triangular, three celled, three valved at 
 top. Seeds numerous, minute, fixed to a central 
 receptacle. 
 
 The Metvis aiirea, of Michaux and Pursh, 
 closely resembles this species, and it is difficult, 
 by comparing specimens of the two, to point out 
 any permanent distinctive marks. The leaves of 
 A. aurea are somewhat narrower and the flowers 
 bright yellow. Walter places it under A. farinosa 
 as a variety, and adds that he could not detect a 
 specific difference ; although the time of flowering 
 and place of growth indicate that they are dis- 
 tinct. In sensible properties they are similar. 
 
STAR GRASS. 95 
 
 In the London Philosophical transactions for 
 1730, a plant is mentioned by Clayton, which, 
 though not described in botanical language, 
 leaves little doubt that the Aletris farinosa is 
 intended. He says, " there is another root of the 
 species of hyacinths ; the leaves are grass-like, 
 but smooth and stiff, of a willow-green colour, 
 and spread like a star on the ground. From the 
 middle shoots a tall, long, rush-like stem, without 
 leaves, near two feet high ; on one side grow 
 little white bell-flowers one above another. The 
 root is black outwardly, but brown within. It is 
 bitter and probably has the same virtues as Little 
 Centaury. Some call it ague grass, others ague 
 root^ others star grass.'^'' 
 
 The root of the Aletris is highly resinous, 
 and appears to contain a portion of extractive 
 matter. The tincture, made by digesting the 
 root in alcohol, is intensely bitter, and assumes a 
 milky turbidness if water be added to it. The 
 decoction is moderately bitter, and is not dis- 
 turbed by alcohol. With chalybeate solutions it 
 undergoes little change. The tincture is to be 
 considered a stronger preparation than the de- 
 coction, although the latter has a good share of 
 the yii'tues of the plant. 
 
S)6 ALETRIS 1 ARINOSA. 
 
 The bitterness of this vegetable has brought 
 it into notice in the quality of a tonic and 
 stomachic. I have been informed of its use for 
 this purpose by physicians in diiferent parts of 
 the country. The most common mode of its 
 employment, I understand, is by infusion or 
 decoction. Pursh speaks of it as a remedy in the 
 colic, but on what principle it can operate in 
 relieving that disease, I am at a loss to say.— The 
 amount of bitter resin, which the plant contains, 
 led me to suspect that it might possess some of 
 the properties of aloes, to which the plant is 
 botanically related ; but on trial, made in several 
 instances with the root in powder, a dose of ten 
 or twelve grains produced no effect of this kind 
 whatever. A physician, who experimented with 
 larger quantities, with a view to test this quality, 
 informed me that a dose of twenty grains occa- 
 sioned much nausea and tendency to vomit, 
 followed by some dizziness ; but that no cathartic 
 operation took place. 
 
 Dr. Cutler, in his account of the plants of 
 New England, informs us, that this plant has 
 been considered useful in chronic rheumatism ; 
 but does not mention the dose or preparation. 
 
 As f\ir as we can sum up the testimony hith- 
 erto offered respecting the general properties of 
 
STAR GRASS. 97 
 
 this plant, it appears that the infusion or decoction 
 acts as a tonic in small doses. Indeed the exhi- 
 bition of large ones would he inconvenient from 
 the extreme bitterness of the plant. The powder, 
 in small quantities, produces no immediate visible 
 effect, except that it has appeared to invigorate 
 the appetite. In large doses it disturbs the 
 stomach, and possibly exerts some narcotic effect 
 on the system. It remains to be determined 
 whether these consequences are attributable to the 
 resin, which the infusion does not dissolve ; or 
 whether the largeness of the dose is alone instru- 
 mental. It is well known that the stomach does 
 not tolerate even gentian or any common bitter 
 in large a dose. And it seems probable that if 
 the Aletris should ever increase in reputation as 
 a tonic bitter, it will only be by its use in limited 
 quantities. 
 
 BOTANICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 Aletris farinosa, Linn. — Willd. iSp. pi. ii. 183.-~i?o^. Mag. t, 
 141 8.— Aletris alba, Michaux, Flora, i. 189. — Pursh, i. 225. — 
 Hyacinthu« floridanus spicatus, Plukenet, amalth. 119, t. 437, /. 2; 
 — Hyacynthus caiile nudo, &c,— -Gronov. Virg, 38, 
 
 13 
 
98 AliETRIS FARINOSA. 
 
 MEDICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 Clayton, Phil. Trans, ahr. viii. 333. — Cutler, *imerican ^ead:. 
 vol. i. 435. 
 
 PLATE L. 
 
 Fig. 1. Mefris farinosa. 
 
 Fig. 2. Corolla opened to shew the insertion of the stamens. 
 
 Fig. 3. Stamen magnified. 
 
 Fig. 4. Fistil magnified. 
 
^ ^/?Y>f/r^ r//-// r/i 
 
 i/r/f /^i^r./YmM-'/M^ 
 
AMERICAN 
 
 MEDICAL BOTANY, 
 
 RHODODENDRON MAXIMUM. 
 
 American 'Rose hay. 
 
 PLATE LL 
 
 XHE scenery of the American forest is dis- 
 tinguished not less by the greatness of its natural 
 features, the imposing and picturesque appearance 
 of its mountains, its rocky precipices, its broad 
 streams and lakes ; than it is by the magnificent 
 clothing of wild shrubs and trees, the uncommon 
 beauty of which, gives to rough and inaccessible 
 spots a richness, that cultivation can hardly imi- 
 tate. The Kalmia, described in our first volume, 
 and the Rhododendron of the present article, 
 which are reared with care and difficulty aa 
 ornaments of European gardens and pleasure 
 grounds, can be seen in perfection no where but 
 in the uncultivated recesses of our own continent* 
 
lOS RHODODENDRON MAXIMUM. 
 
 Near the summits of mountains, on the hanks of 
 torrents and deep ravines, from which rivers take 
 their rise, where the deep shade, moist soil and 
 dashing water, preserve the atmosphere in a state 
 of perpetual humidity ; these shrubs, in luxuriant 
 size and vigour, are seen to eover tracts of great 
 extent, at one season presenting an unbroken 
 landscape of gorgeous flowers, and at another 
 w ith their evergreen foliage forming an impene- 
 trable shelter for the wild animals of the forest. 
 Of the Rhododendron maximum, Mr. Pursli 
 has designated three varieties. These are, 
 1. The Red, which inhabits swamps and the 
 borders of mountain lakes from Canada to Caro- 
 lina ; 2. The White, found in the swamps of New 
 Jersey and Delaware ; 3. The Purple, on the 
 highest mountains of Virginia and Carolina. 
 This last variety is represented as peculiarly 
 magnificent, growing to the size of a small tree, 
 having its trunk eighteen inches and more in 
 diameter, and its foliage triple the size of any 
 other species. 
 
 The first variety of this elegant shrub grows 
 abundantly on the banks of Charles river, a dozen 
 or fifteen miles from Boston. It even supports 
 the winter as far north as the state of Maine, and 
 was observed, by Dr. Eaton, growing plentifully 
 
AMERICAN ROSE BAY. 103 
 
 on the borders of Sebago lake near Portland. 
 It does not bear transplantation well, but is apt 
 to dwindle after the first or second year. It 
 succeeds best when removed to a damp springy 
 soil, and to a situation calculated to afford it 
 shelter from the sun. 
 
 The Shododendron, of the N^orthern states, 
 is a large straggling shrub, very irregular in its 
 mode of growth. The bark is of a greyish colour, 
 very mucii cracked and broken. The leaves are 
 in tufts at the ends of the branches. They ai*e 
 evergreen, coriaceous, on round fleshy petioles, 
 oblong-oval, entire, revolute at the edges, and pale 
 underneath. Both leaves and petioles, when 
 young, are covered with a light woolly substance. 
 The flowers form a terminal cluster or thyrsus 
 immediately above the leaves, the stalks and 
 cal;yces of which are covered with a glutinous 
 pubescence. Previous to its expansion, the w hole 
 bunch forms a large compound bud, resemblino" 
 a strobilus or cone, each individual flower-bud 
 being covered by a rhomboidal bracte, which 
 fails off when the flower expands. Calyx small, 
 of five unequal obtuse segments > Corolla mo- 
 nopetalous, funnel-shaped, with a short tube, the 
 border divided into five large, unequal segments, 
 which are white, shaded w ith lake, the upper and 
 
104* RHODODENDRON MAXIMUM, 
 
 largest, having a collection of orange coloured 
 spots at its centre. Stamens declinate, unequal ; 
 the filaments white, thickened and hairy at base , 
 anthers two celled, opening by two pores at 
 top ; pollen white. Germ ovate, hairy, glutinous ; 
 style declinate, equal to the longest stamens, 
 thickened upwards ; stigma a rough surface with 
 five points. Capsule ovate, obtusely angular, 
 five-celled. Seeds numerous, minute. 
 
 Considered in its chemical character, this 
 shrub is a resinous astringent. A decoction of 
 the leaves gives strong proofs of the presence of 
 tannin in large quantities. Both the bark and 
 leaves, digested in alcohol, produce a resinous 
 tincture, which is immediately rendered turbid 
 by water. The glutinous covering of the flower 
 stalks appears of a resinous nature. A decoction 
 of the leaves in water affords nothing which is not 
 soluble in alcohol, and did not alter by it in two 
 days' standing. 
 
 I have been induced to examine the Rhodo- 
 dendron and to insert it in this work, on account 
 of the reputation it has possessed of being poison- 
 ous. The late Professor Barton, in his collec- 
 tions towards an American Materia Medica, has 
 given various intimations of this sort, the most 
 conclusive of which is his expression, " This is 
 
AMERICAN ROSE BAY. 105 
 
 certainly a poison.'' — The result of my own 
 attention to this shrub does not give reason for 
 attaching to it suspicions of possessing a very 
 deleterious nature. IN^one of its external charac- 
 ters would lead to apprehensions of this sort, 
 particularly the taste, which is simply astringent 
 and herbaceous, and much like that of a common 
 oak leaf. I know not what quantity might prove 
 injurious, but under the conviction that the plant 
 was not particularly dangerous, I have swallowed 
 a green leaf of the middle size, so large that it 
 required some resolution to masticate so unpala- 
 table a morsel, but have found no ill effect what- 
 ever to result from it. 
 
 Medicinally considered, I think it must be 
 ranked among the astringents, a place which both 
 its sensible and chemical properties entitle it to 
 hold. If it have any narcotic powers, they will 
 probably be developed only by an extraordinary 
 dose, which few persons will be likely to put to 
 the test 
 
106 RHODODENDRON MAXIMUM. 
 
 BOTANICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 Rhododendron maximum, Willd. Sp. pi. ii. 606. — Bot. Mag. t. 
 951. —Schmidt, Arb. t 121.— Pursh, i. 297.— Michaux, .A^. Jl. 
 Sylva, t. 67. 
 
 MEDICAL REFERENCE. 
 
 B. S. Barton, Collections, i. 18. 
 
 PLATE LI. 
 
 Fig. 1. .4 branch of Rhododendron niaccimum in fiower and in 
 
 bud. 
 Fig. 2. Calyx and style. 
 Fia;. 3. Stamen* 
 

 YrrY/r^////rt' 
 
EUPHOEBIA IPECACUANHA. 
 
 Ipecacuanha spurge. 
 
 PLATE LIL 
 
 JJ ROM the specific name given to this vege- 
 table we infer, that befoi-e the true origin of the 
 officinal ipecacuanha was known, this plant, 
 among others, was for a time considered the 
 source of that drug. The Pharmacopceia Danica 
 was one of the works in which this reference was 
 made, and Linnaeus undoubtedly paid some 
 respect to the opinion in assigning the specific 
 name. 
 
 Nearly all the species of Euphorbia appear to 
 possess the power of acting with violence on the 
 stomach and alimentary canal. This power 
 particularly resides in a milky juice which they 
 exude on being wounded. Of the species which 
 have been most extensively submitted to experi- 
 ment are Euphorbia officinarum, esula, heliosco- 
 15 
 
108 EUPHORBIA IPECACUANHA. 
 
 pia, dalcis, peplus, exigua, Cyparissias, palustris, 
 and Cliaracias. Professor Murray has collected 
 details respecting the operation of most of these, 
 from various medical authorities. It appears 
 that they all excite vomiting or purging, and in 
 large doses hring on violent burning pains of the 
 stomach and bowels, heat and thirst, followed by 
 great prostration of strength, cold sweats, and in 
 some instance, death. In small quantities, how- 
 ever, they have been used as medicines with 
 safety, although some of them are uncertain in 
 regard to their dose, and difficult to manage in 
 their operation. [JVofe B.] 
 
 The genus Euphorbia comprises a vast num- 
 ber of species, of different habit, size and mode 
 of growth. The flowers are frequently minute, 
 very complex, and difficult of examination. They 
 have a calyciform involiicriim with four or Jive 
 segments like petals, and the same niimher of 
 interior segments like nectaries. Stamens twelve 
 or more. Filaments articulated. Fertile fower 
 solitary, stipitate, naked. Styles three, hifid. 
 Capsule three seedet?.— The species Ipecacuanha 
 is procumhent, with opposite, ohovate, ohlong or 
 linear leaves ; peduncles axillary, one flowered, 
 elongated. 
 
IPECACUANHA SPURGE. 109 
 
 The genus was placed by Linnaeus in the 
 class Bodecandria, order Trigynia, Michaux, 
 considering as separate male flowers, the bodies 
 of stamens which correspond, in number, to the 
 nectaries or lacinulse, has referred the genus ta 
 Monwcia, Monadelphia. In this he has been 
 followed by various American botanists.— In 
 natural arrangements this genus is among the 
 Tricoccas of Linn, and Eiiphorbice of Juss. 
 
 The Euphorbia ipecacuanha is a low, tufted 
 plant, growing in sandy soils in the Middle and 
 Southern states. Michaux remarks, that the 
 plants are sometimes buried in the sand. It is 
 a polymorphous vegetable both in its shape and 
 colour, the leaves continually differing in their 
 outline, even in contiguous plants ; and the 
 colour varying from green to crimson. 
 
 The root is irregular and fleshy, very large 
 in proportion to the plant it bears, running deep 
 into the sand, sometimes, as Mr. Pursh informs 
 us, extending to the depth of six feet. The 
 stems, from one root, are numerous, erect or 
 procumbent, forming large bunches on the 
 surface of the ground. They are smooth, regu- 
 larly dichotomous, and jointed at the forks. The 
 leaves are inserted at the joints, opposite, sessile, 
 smooth, having most frequently an oblong shape 
 
110 EUPHORBIA IPECACUANHA. 
 
 though different plants possess every intermediate 
 variety in the form of the leaf, from circular to 
 linear. Their size and colour are likewise vari- 
 able. The flowers are solitary on long peduncles 
 from the forks of the stem. Calyx spreading, 
 divided into five obtuse segments. Inner seg- 
 ments or nectaries five, small, gibbous. Stamens 
 numerous, in five parcels, appearing, at different 
 times, two or three together, with double anthers. 
 The fertile flowers have a large, roundish, droop- 
 ing, pedicelled germ, crowned with six revolute 
 stigmas. Capsule three celled. 
 
 T!ie dried root of the Euphorbia ipecacuanha 
 is of a greyish colour outside, and white within. 
 It is light and brittle and has about the hardness 
 of cork. To the taste it is sweetish and not 
 particularly unpleasant. 
 
 I subjected some portions of the root to 
 chemical examination and obtained the following 
 results. — Sulphuric ether digested on the pow- 
 dered root dissolves a part of it ; and this ethereal 
 solution gives a precipitate, if alcohol is added to 
 it. — Alcohol alone takes up another portion of the 
 root, and assumes a pearly turbidness after water 
 is added. Both the ethereal and alcoholic solu- 
 tions, evaporated to dryness, leave a residuum 
 which is fusible and inflammable. The decoction. 
 
IPECACUANHA SPURGE. HI 
 
 gives no precipitate with gelatin or sulphate of 
 iron. With alcohol it gave out a white precipi- 
 tate which rendered the solution turbid, and 
 subsided in flocks. The cold infusion exhibited 
 the same phenomena in a smaller degree. From 
 these appearances we may infer that the root 
 contains caoutchouc, resin, mucus and probably 
 fsBcula. 
 
 The Euphorbia ipecacuanha has long been 
 known to possess the same property, which is so 
 frequent in its genus, of exciting the stomach 
 powerfully as an emetic. The appropriation of 
 its specific name seems even to imply that such 
 a property had been recognised in this species 
 in a more eminent degree, than in the rest. It 
 does not appear, however, tliat it has ever con- 
 tinued long in use, this being prevented, proba- 
 bly, by the suspicious character of the race of 
 plants to which it belongs. The late Dr. Barton 
 mentions this vegetable among his indigenous 
 emetics, but considers it too violent and uncer- 
 tain to be depended on as a safe medicine. 
 
 Within a few years the plant has been 
 attended to by some medical gentlemen in 
 Philadelphia, who report more favourably of its 
 powers and mode of operation ; and consider it 
 as a safe, certain and manageable emetic, applica- 
 
lis EUPHORBIA IPECACUANHA. 
 
 ble to most of the cases in which medicines of 
 this kind are called for. 
 
 Being desirous to obtain personal knowledge 
 of the medicinal character of this vegetable, I 
 instituted trials with different parcels of the dried 
 root, some of which were gathered by myself, in 
 flower, near Philadelphia, and the rest sent me 
 by friends from Baltimore and Washington. 
 Portions of these roots were given to a variety of 
 patients in the Dispensary and Almshouse by 
 myself and by other physicians, who have obliged 
 me by communicating the results of their obser- 
 vations. These experiments have led to the 
 conclusion that the Euphorbia ipecacuanha in 
 doses of from ten to twenty grains is both aa 
 emetic and cathartic ; that it is more active than 
 ipecacuanha in proportion to the number of grains 
 administered ; that in small doses it operates 
 with as much ease as most emetics, in a majority 
 of instances. If it fails, however, at first, it is not 
 so safely repeated as the other emetics in com- 
 mon use. Given in large doses it excites active 
 and long continued vomiting, attended with a sense 
 of heat, vertigo, indistinct vision, and prostration of 
 strength. I have not ventured upon any large 
 dose myself, but have been informed, that such 
 is the effect^ by those who have given the root in 
 
IPECACUANHA SPURGE. 113 
 
 doses of two scruples and upwards. The plant 
 appears to differ from the South American Ipe- 
 cacuanha in having the degree of its operation 
 proportionate to the quantity taken ; the process 
 of vomiting not being checked by the powder 
 being thrown off of the stomachj as frequently 
 happens, when common Ipecac is given in large 
 doses. 
 
 At my request. Dr. James McKeen made this 
 plant and another species, E. corollata, the sub- 
 jects of an inaugural dissertation at Harvard 
 University, in 1830. As his observations have 
 been made with some care, and illustrate very 
 fairly the action of the medicine, I insert the 
 principal cases from his manuscript. 
 
 " Case I. The first experiment," he observes, 
 " made with this species of the Euphorbia was 
 upon a man of intemperate habits, about twenty 
 seven years of age, and who appeared to be a 
 candidate for Delirium Tremens. I gave him 
 ten grains. He told me that it always required 
 powerful doses of medicine to produce any effects 
 upon his stomach or bowels, but as I was then a 
 stranger to the powers of the Euphorbia ipecacu- 
 anha, it was thought prudent not to hazard a 
 large quantity until something had been ascer- 
 tained of its strength. ¥» lien I called in the 
 
114^^ EUPHORBIA IPECACUANHA. 
 
 morning after it was taken, I learned that the 
 medicine had produced a gentle purging, pre- 
 ceded by a considerable degree of nausea, but 
 that there had been no vomiting. 
 
 " Case II. The next fair opportunity which 
 occurred for experiment was in the case of a 
 female about thirty seven years of age. This 
 woman, for a considerable portion of her life, had 
 suffered from syphilis ; nothing remained now, 
 however, specifically of this kind, excepting the 
 marked effects of a constitution shattered by 
 disease. I gave her at first ten grains of the 
 Euphorbia ipecacuanha, and in twenty minutes, 
 no signs of vomiting occurring, I gave her eight 
 grains more, and kept adding to the quantity, 
 which she had taken, until it amounted in the 
 whole to forty grains. I remained by this patient 
 until vomiting commenced, which was precisely 
 thirty five minutes after the exhibition of the first 
 ten grains. As the influence of the mind, in 
 contemplating the effects of an emetic, will often 
 induce its more speedy operation, I diverted the 
 patient's attention as much as possible, that no 
 consequences might ensue, but such as were 
 produced by the specific action of the medicine. 
 As soon as I ascertained that this Euphorbia- 
 ipecacuanha was likely to produce effectual 
 
IPECACUANHA SPURGE, H.^ 
 
 Vomiting, I left the house. About thirty hours 
 afterwards I called to see tliis patient, and with 
 much surprise found that the quantity I had 
 given her had continued to operate by emesis 
 and catharsis ever since. She was, however, 
 very little exhausted, and there was nothing of 
 cramp either on the stomach or extremities which 
 so often distress those who are too severely 
 vomited. About this time there was a cessation 
 of vomiting without the assistance of remedies. 
 Two days afterwards this woman told me she had 
 not been as well as she then was for a number 
 of years. The powerful vomiting produced a 
 considerable degree of dizziness, but this went 
 off in the course of twenty four hours. I had 
 quite despaired of vomiting this patient with tlie 
 Euphorbia ipecacuanha. In no instance after- 
 wards was this medicine more than half as long 
 in producing vomiting as it was in this case. 
 
 Case III. A gu4 of about eighteen years of 
 age, whose manner of living was similar to that 
 of the person mentioned in the preceding case, 
 applied to me for an emetic ; I gave her thirty 
 grains of the Euphorbia ipecacuanha, and told 
 her to take half of this quantity, and if it did not 
 operate in half an hour, she might take the re- 
 mainder. Contrary to my injunctions she took 
 16 
 
116 EUPHORBIA IPECACUANHA. 
 
 the whole at a single draught. In fifteen minutes 
 her attendants told me she began to vomit, and 
 continued to throw up, at intervals, smartly for 
 five hours, and was purged seven or eight hours 
 more. For some time after this she complained 
 much of dizziness. 
 
 Case IV. As I had found, in the first trial, 
 that ten grains of the Euphorbia ipecacuanha 
 failed to produce vomiting, I tried the same 
 dose upon another subject, which was a woman 
 of about forty eight years of age, to determine if 
 so small a quantity would produce vomiting. 
 In about fifteen or twenty minutes after the 
 medicine was received into the stomach, it began 
 to operate. After she had vomited three times, 
 it commenced purging, and produced three or 
 four evacuations. This woman did not complain 
 of any dizziness, as those did in the two preced- 
 ing cases. 
 
 Case V. A woman about thirty one years of 
 age took fifteen grains of the Euphorbia ipecacu- 
 anha ; in seventeen minutes it began to operate, 
 and vomited the patient every few minutes, until 
 the operation amounted to five or six times, and 
 afterwards a moderate purging ensued. The 
 operation, in this case, was more satisfactory than 
 any preceding ones, as it effectually evacuated 
 
IPECACUANHA SPURGE. 117 
 
 the stomach and bowels, without a too long con- 
 tinuance of the vomiting'. 
 
 Case YI. A man of forty years of age was 
 seized with symptoms of fever. Four grains ctf 
 sulphate of copper and twelve of common ipecac 
 were given. This dose produced no emetic 
 operation, but occasioned violent purging. Forty 
 eight hours after, I gave him twenty grains of 
 Euphorbia ipecacuanha, in powder, which pro- 
 duced very effectual evacuations from the stomach, 
 vomiting him eight or nine times ; after which 
 he had one or two alvine discharges. 
 
 Case VII. In one instance, for experiment, I 
 gave four grains of this plant j but it neither 
 affected the stomach nor bowels, nor the feelings 
 of the patient, nor his pulse." 
 
 From what is now known respecting the 
 Euphorbia ipecacuanha, we are justified in con- 
 sidering it an active emetic, and, if prudently 
 administered, more safe than a majority of the 
 species of its genus. It wants, however, the 
 peculiar mildness of the officinal Ipecacuanha, 
 which, in cases of slow operation, permits the 
 dose to be accumulated by repetition, until its 
 due effect takes place, without danger of excessive 
 violence in the length and degree of evacuation, 
 and without an injurious impression on the 
 
118 EUPHORBIA IPECACUANHA, 
 
 nervous system. This, indeed, appears to be the 
 common defect of the active North American 
 emetics hitherto examined. And until a more 
 exteusive examination has brought to light new 
 substances of this class, or better defined the 
 modes of preparation and use of those already 
 known, we cannot wish that the South American 
 drug should be diminished in our markets, or 
 less familiar to our physicians. 
 
 BOTANICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 Euphorbia Ipecacuanha, Linn. Sp. pi. — Willd. ii. 900.— Mi- 
 CHAux, Flora, ii. 212. — Pursh, ii. 606. — Botanical Magazine, t, 
 1494. — Euphorbia inermis, &c. — Gronovius, Virg. 74. — Tithymalus 
 flore minimo herbaceo ? — Clayton, Phil, trans, abr. viii. 331. 
 
 MEDICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 ScH«EPF, Mat. Med. 74.— B. S. Barton, Coll. 26 W. P. C^ 
 
 Barton, Teg. Mat. Med. vol. i. 
 
 PLATE LII. 
 
 Fig. 1. Euphorbia Ipecacuanha. 
 
 Fig. 2, 5, 4, 5. Different forms and sizes of tfie leaf observed 
 
 in individuals of this species. 
 Fig. 6. Red variety of the leaves. 
 Fig. 7. Calyx. 
 
 Fig. 8. Calyoe opened, with five of the stamens expanded} 
 Fig. 9. Ji perfect flower. 
 Tig. 10. Styles and stigmas magnified'. 
 
J*I, JJJf 
 
 (:'/^A//-^z^i-a e^ny/^xAz 
 
 ulnnin kSmUA- 
 
EUPHORBIA COROLLATA. 
 
 Large jlowering spurge. 
 
 PLATE LIIL 
 
 Jln point of stature and the siiewy appear- 
 ance of its flowers, this species of Euphorbia 
 differs eminently from that described in the last 
 article. In the common features, however, of 
 the genus, such as its lactescence, its taste, and 
 its medicinal powers j the consanguinity of the 
 two plants evidently appears. I am not aware 
 that this species has been much known for its 
 operative qualities, until within a very recent 
 period. The indians were, indeed, acquainted 
 with the medicinal properties of more than one 
 species of Euphorbia. They doubtless made use 
 of the E. ipecacuanha, and not impossibly of the 
 present species also. In Mr. Clayton's letter to 
 Dr. Grew, contained in the Transactions of the 
 Royal society for 1730; and which we have noticed 
 
1^0 EUPHORBIA COROLLATA. 
 
 in speaking of Aletris farinosa, the writer states, 
 that the Aborigines made use of " the roots of 
 Tjthymal, of which there are two sorts, the one 
 Jlore minimo herbaceo, the other floi^e albo. The 
 flower of this last," he says, " is small, but large 
 in comparison with the other. They are repenteSf 
 and grow in old manured grounds. They chiefly 
 make use of the latter of these, and it is a most 
 excellent purge, though it sometimes vomits. It 
 is quick but moderate in its effect, and has this pe- 
 culiarity, that it opens the body, when other more 
 violent purgatives will not move it." We might 
 safely conclude that the white flowering species, 
 here noticed, is the Euphorbia corollata, were it 
 not for the term repentes applied to both plants. 
 It is not improbable that in this respect, the 
 writer might have been misinformed. 
 
 Pursh informs us that Euphorbia corollata 
 grows in dry fields from Canada to Carolina. 1/ 
 have never met with it north of Pennsylvania. 
 The drawing which illustrates our description is 
 from a specimen cultivated in the Botanic garden 
 at Cambridge. It is a tall, erect plant, from 
 one to five feet in height, resembling, at a dis- 
 tance, some of the white flowering corymbiferw. 
 It begins to flower in June, but is not fully ex- 
 panded until July or August. Its specific 
 
LARGE FLO\YERIN& SPURGE. IM 
 
 character is as follows. Umbel jive rayed, three 
 parted, dichotomous ; leaves and involucra oblong, 
 obtuse; segments of the ealycc obovate, petaloidy 
 coloured. The shape of the leaves is subject to 
 variety, as is also their smoothness or hairiness. 
 This plant has a large branching root which 
 sends up a number of stems, frequently from two 
 to five feet in height. They are erect, round 
 and in most instances simple. The leaves are 
 scattered, sessile ; oblong, obovate or linear, a 
 little revolute at the margin, smooth in some 
 plants, very hairy in others. The stem divides 
 at top into a large five rayed umbel, supported by 
 an involucrum of as many leaves. Not unfre- 
 quently a small axillary branch or two arise from 
 the sides of the stem below the umbel. The 
 rays of the umbel are repeatedly trifid or dicho- 
 tomous, each fork being attended by two leafets 
 and a flower. The top of the stem or centre of 
 the umbel is turgid, and often bears a precocious 
 flower. The calyx is large, rotate, white, with 
 five obtuse petal-like segments, from which the 
 name of the species has been taken. The nec- 
 taj'ies or inner segments are five, very small, 
 obtuse projections situated at the base of the 
 segments. Stamens a dozen or more emerging 
 two or three at a time, with double anthers. 
 
13S EUPHORBIA COROIiLATA. 
 
 Germ pedicelled. Capsule three celled. A 
 great portion of the plants are wholly stamini- 
 ferous. 
 
 The results of a short chemical examination 
 of this plant were very similar to those afforded by 
 E. ipecacuanha. The ethereal solution was made 
 turbed by alcohol, and the alcoholic by water. 
 The precipitate in the last instance seemed 
 denser and more abundant than it was in the 
 former species. The decoction deposited a 
 mucus or feculent substance, by means of alco- 
 hol, as in the other plant. The same sweetish 
 taste characterised the solutions of both veg- 
 etables. 
 
 It has been observed, by late experimenters 
 in vegetable chemistry, that most of the lactes- 
 cent or milky plants contain caoutchouc. That 
 they contain a substance of this nature, which is 
 dissolved by ether and not by alcohol, I am able 
 to attest from the examination of various lactes- 
 cent plants inserted in this work, and some 
 others. 
 
 The properties of Euphorbia coroUata have 
 been lately brought into notice by W. Zollic- 
 koffer, M. D. of Baltimore, to whom I was first 
 indebted for my specimens of the root and living 
 plant ; and who has furnished me with a vai'iety 
 
LARGE FLOWERING SPURGE. 123 
 
 of facts relating to its properties. Dr. Z. states 
 that this plant is fjuite common in some parts of 
 the state of Virginia. In some districts of Mary- 
 land, and more particularly in Anne Arundel 
 county, it grows in the greatest abundance, where 
 it is recognised hj the common appellations of 
 Milkweed, Snake's milk, Ipecacuanha and Indian. 
 Physic. It delights in a poor, dry, and sandy 
 soil. It is seldom or never found growing in 
 the woods, hut in fields that are cultivated every 
 two or three years. The farmers have frequently 
 told him that it is very hurtful to small grain, 
 >vhen it grows in great quantities, and the com- 
 mon means that are made use of, such as plough- 
 ing and harrowing, in order to kill bluegrass^ 
 have the effect of increasing the quantity and 
 rapid growth of this plant. It is never eaten by 
 animals. The root is sometimes used as an 
 emetic by the country people ; and it is esteemed 
 in the cure of dropsy. The stalks, which arise 
 from the common trunk of the root, are some- 
 times as many as thirty, and from this down to 
 a single one. The largest roots, which he recol- 
 lects seeing, measured from an inch to two 
 inches and a half in circumference. He has 
 been in the habit of using the Euphorbia corol- 
 
 lata, for some time past in practice, as an emetic^ 
 
 17 
 
134} EUPHORBIA COROLLATA. 
 
 ill the place of the Ipecacuanha of the shops ^ 
 and thinks it in no respect inferior to this article. 
 Combined with opium and the Sulph. potassse 
 in the proportions of the Pulv. doveri, he has 
 found it to be a valuable diaphoretic. The con- 
 tused root, in its recent state, will excite inflam- 
 mation and vesication, when applied to any part 
 of the body ; which generally goes oif in the course 
 of four or five days whithout being attended with 
 any inconvenience whatever. He was led to 
 give it a number of trials in this way from the 
 circumstance of his face becoming considerably 
 inflamed after having iiandled large quantities of 
 the root. As an expectorant, this plant, he says, 
 is deserving of the attention of practitioners. 
 
 Dr. Z. has furnished me with minutes of 
 seventeen cases, in which he administered the 
 powdered root of this plant in doses of fi'om ten 
 to twenty grains. In all of these it operated by 
 vomiting, with the exception of two cases, where 
 it produced nausea, followed by catharsis. Hav- 
 ing tried a variety of preparations, he states, that 
 the extract may be given in doses of from five to 
 eight grains ; the wine prepared in the same way 
 as Vinum ipecacuanha, in dose of an ounce or 
 an ounce and an half. Of the root in powder 
 from fifteen to twenty grains was found a proper 
 
LARGE FLOWERING SPURGE. 1^5 
 
 emetic. He considers this medicine as liaving' a 
 peculiar advantage in possessing no unpleasant 
 taste ; being only followed by a sense of heat in 
 a few minutes after it is taken. But this is by no 
 means lasting, nor does it produce any material 
 uneasiness. 
 
 In some experiments, to determine the solu- 
 ble portions of this root, Dr. Z. found that two 
 thousand one hundred and sixty grains of the 
 recent root afforded one hundred and two grains 
 of watery extract ; and a like quantity by diges- 
 tion in alcohol gave one hundred and twenty 
 three grains of alcoholic extract. He did not 
 observe any difference in the activity of these two 
 extracts. 
 
 Dr. McKeen, v*^hose Dissertation on the 
 species of Euphorbia has been already cited in 
 the last article, has detailed the circumstances of 
 twelve cases, in which he administered the 
 Euphorbia coroUata. His experiments differ 
 from those of Dr. Zollickoffer, in the quantity of 
 the root used, being always smaller. The doses, 
 which he gave, were from three to twelve grains 
 of the powder. In every instance the medicine 
 operated as a cathartic. In most of the cases 
 nausea was produced, but in three only, out of 
 the whole number, it was followed by vomitings 
 
4^6 EUPHORBIA COROLLATA. 
 
 In one case a dose of three grains proved actively 
 cathartic in four hours. In another five grains 
 produced vomiting. In a third no effect was 
 experienced from twelve grains, except that of a 
 moderate laxative. In one instance twenty grains 
 "v^ere given, which produced vomiting three times, 
 followed by about twenty alvine evacuations. 
 
 I have placed portions of this plant in the 
 hands of several practitioners and medical stu- 
 dents, with a request to be informed of the effect, 
 when suitable opportunities for its exhibition had 
 occurred. In a majority of the instances I have 
 been told, that a cathartic operation had followed 
 its use ; and sometimes, though less frequently, 
 an emetic. It rarely has proved inactive. 
 
 The Euphorbia corollata must undoubtedly 
 be ranked among the more efficient medicines of 
 the evacuating class. Dr. McKeen concludes, 
 from his experiments, that it is a very certain 
 purgative, possessing, he thinks, about double 
 the strength of jalap. It exerts its cathartic 
 efficacy in doses of less than ten grains. If given 
 to the amount of fifteen or twenty grains, it is 
 very sure to prove emetic ; the proportion of its 
 failures, being not greater than occurs in the use 
 of other emetic medicines. The only inconven- 
 iences which have come to my knowledge, as 
 
liARGE FLOWERING SPURGE. 127 
 
 attending it, are, that if given in small doses, for 
 a purgative, it is apt to produce nausea ; while in 
 the large doses suitable for an emetic, it some- 
 times has induced a degree of hypercatharsis. 
 But it must he observed, that many of the medi- 
 cines, in common use, may occasion similar 
 consequences in jtersons of peculiar habit and 
 irritable fibre. Future experiment will, no dc«ubt, 
 determine whether the Euphorbia corollata is 
 any more irregular and unmanageable than other 
 medicines of its kind, or whether it is entitled to 
 a permanent and useful place in the Materia 
 Medica. 
 
 Many, and perhaps all the species of Euphor- 
 bia are powerful external stimulants. Sover.J 
 are used as a sort of caustic to destroy warts. 
 The gum, called Euphorbium, produced by the 
 Euphorbia officinarum, is a strong vesicatory, 
 employed by farriers, and sometimes used to 
 adulterate the plaister of Cantharides. The 
 blistering power of E. corollata has been stated 
 by Dr. Zollickoffer. This active genus of plants 
 deserves a thorough investigation with a view to 
 this particular property, to determine whether 
 they are safe and manageable vesications, or 
 virulent and uncertain. 
 
138 EUPHORBIA COROLLATA* 
 
 BOTANICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 Euphorbia corollata, Linn. — Willd. ii. 916.— Michaux, ii. 210ir 
 — PuRSH, ii. 607. — Tithymalus marianus, &c. — Plukenet, Mant. 
 182. t. 446./. 2. 
 
 MEDICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 Clayton, Philosophical transactions abridged, viii. SSL — Zol- 
 EiCKOFFER, Materia Medica. Baltimore, 1819. 
 
 PLATE LIII. 
 
 Fig. 1. Euphorbia corollata, the top of a plant raiJier below ilv& 
 
 common size. 
 Fig. 2. Barren fioiver. 
 Fig. 3. Calyx not fully expanded. 
 Fig. 4. Stamen. 
 Fig. 5. Fertile flower. 
 
6 7 
 
 
 ^n^in iJmM^ 
 
POLYGALA RUBELLA. 
 
 Bitter Poly gala. 
 
 FLATE LIV. 
 
 A HIS plant is interesting from the curious 
 manner in which a part of the fruit is produced, 
 hy a kind of imperfect flower growing close to, 
 and in some instances under, the surface of the 
 ground. It is not the only species of the Polygala 
 which has this peculiarity. I have often observed 
 little shoots at the root of P. paucifolia, one of the 
 most beautiful of the genvis, bearing apterous 
 flowers and subterranean fruit, precisely like 
 those represented in our plate. The P. polygama. 
 of Waller and Pursh, if, indeed, it is a distinct 
 species, has the same remarkable mode of growth. 
 It is difficult to imagine what end is attained by 
 nature in tiiis singular arrangement, by whicli a 
 part of the seeds are ripened in the sun, wiiile 
 the rest, like the fruit of Arachis hypogsea, is 
 
130 POLYGAIiA RUBELLA. 
 
 buried from the light. To the eye there is no 
 difference between seeds taken from the upper or 
 lower racemes of the plant. It would be Avorth 
 while to ascertain if the two will vegetate equally 
 well. 
 
 The genus is marked by a calya^ ^ffi'^^ leaves, 
 two of which are wing-like and coloured. Capsule 
 obcordate, two celled and two valved. The spe- 
 cies rubella has its stems simple ; leaves linear- 
 ohlong, mucronated ; flowers racemed, those of the 
 stem tvinged, those of the root apterous. 
 
 Class Biadelphia, order Octandria; natural 
 orders Lomentacew, Linn. Pediciilares, Juss. 
 
 The Poly gala rubella, here described, is the 
 plant designated by that name in Muhlenberg's 
 catalogue, as £ have formerly learnt from the 
 author himself. There is little doubt that Willde- 
 now's plant is the same, described from an 
 imperfect specimen. It is found in dry, sandy, 
 or gravelly soils in many parts of the United 
 States, and flowers in June and July. 
 
 Eoot somewhat fusiform, perennial, branch- 
 ing. Stems numerous, ascending, smooth, angu- 
 lar, simple. Leaves scattered, smooth, the lower 
 ones obovate, smaller; the upper ones linear- 
 lanceolate, obtuse, mucronated, sessile. Flowers 
 purple, short-crested, in terminal racemes. 
 
BITTER POLY GALA. 131 
 
 Bractes small, ovate-lanceolate, caducous. Wings 
 of the calyx rhomboid-oval, obtuse, with a slight 
 middle nerve. Corolla small, closed, of three 
 segments, the middle one largest and crested by 
 the division of its sides and extremity. Anthers 
 eipht, forming a double row, the filaments coa- 
 lescing. Germ compressed, inversely heart- 
 shaped ; style deflexed ; stigma bearded inside, 
 with a prominence below it. Capsule inversely 
 heart-shaped, nearly smooth, margined, and in- 
 vested with the wings of the calyx. Seeds two, 
 obovate, hairy, with a transparent appendage or 
 strophiole on the inside. From the base of the 
 stems proceed a number of prostrate shoots 
 situated upon, and sometimes nearly under the 
 ground, bearing a row of incomplete fertile flowers. 
 These flowers are furnished with a calyx without 
 wings, a minute corolla and stamens, and a short 
 style. The germ and fruit precisely resemble 
 those of the more perfect flowers. 
 
 Like some of the European species which it 
 resembles in habit, this plant is a strong and 
 permanent bitter, imparting its sensible proper- 
 ties both to spirit and to water. I digested a 
 portion of the dried plant in ether, and added 
 alcohol to the solution. No change was visible 
 
 at the time of mixture, but on standing till the 
 18 
 
133 FOLYGALA RUBELLA. 
 
 ether had partly evaporated, the alcohol became 
 turbid. A tincture of the plant was not imme- 
 diately affected by adding water, but on standing 
 oyer night it became very turbid, and in a few 
 days deposited a large precipitate. The bitter- 
 ness, which is probably of the extractive kind, was 
 communicated to cold, as well as hot water ; and 
 to alcohol. The aqueous solutions appear strong 
 enough to represent the virtues of this vegetable. 
 The Polygala rubella, from its extreme bit- 
 terness, has attracted the notice of various 
 medical practitioners in the Northern states. 
 I have been assured by those who have tried its 
 efficacy, that the infusion administered in small 
 doses, proves a useful tonic and stimulant to the 
 digestive organs. In large doses it opens the 
 body and excites diaphoresis. Its powers appear 
 to resemble those of Polygala vulgaris and P. 
 amara of Europe, to which it has a close botanical 
 resemblance ; and which have enjoyed a certain 
 degree of medicinal reputation as tonics and 
 expectorants. 
 
BITTER POLYGALA. 133 
 
 BOTANICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 Polygala rubella, Muhlenberg, Catal. — Willd. iii. 875. 
 PuRSH, ii. 464. — Polygala polygama ? — ^Nuttall, genera, ii, 87. 
 
 PLATE LIV. 
 
 Fig. 1. Polygala rubella. 
 
 Fig. 2. d flower. 
 
 Fig. 3. Calyx, 
 
 Fig. 4. Corolla magnified. 
 
 Fig. 5. Fruit of ditto. 
 
 Fig. 6. Body of stamens^ 
 
 Fig. 7. Pistil 
 
NYMPHiEA ODORATA, 
 
 Sweet scented Water lily. 
 PLATE LV. 
 
 Ihe common Water lily, of Korth America, 
 tery much resembles that of Europe iu its 
 external form, but differs remarkably in the fine 
 fragrance of its flowers, those of the old continent 
 being nearly destitute of odour. It belongs to 
 a very beautiful tribe of aquatic plants, a great 
 part of which are natives of the torrid zone. 
 Those species which support the cold of our 
 northern latitudes, are enabled to do so only by 
 the depth of water, under which it is their habit 
 to vegetate. Xature has provided a sort of spon- 
 taneous hotbed for these plants, by placing then* 
 roots at such a depth from the surface of the 
 element in which they grow, that the frost, which 
 would otherwise prove fatal, does not reach them 
 at the coldest season. 
 
SWEET SCENTED WATER LILY. 135 
 
 The Nympbsea odorata, the finest of the 
 iiorthern species, grows abundantly in most 
 parts of the United States, about the edges of 
 rivers and ponds, where the water is more than a 
 foot in depth. It is one of the largest of our 
 native flowers, and though it has often been 
 represented as inferior, in size, to the water lilj 
 of Europe, I am sure that this comparison can 
 only have resulted from the inspection of culti- 
 vated specimens. The annexed drawing was 
 made from a full grown and fully expanded 
 specimen, and is actually smaller than the flower 
 from which it was taken. 
 
 Every angler is familiar with the leaves and 
 stems of this plant, which, with a few similar 
 aquatics, forms floating beds about the edges of 
 deep fresh waters, affording to the fish a favourite 
 shelter from the light ; and often rendering them 
 Biore essential service, by entangling the hooks 
 and lines of their pursuers. 
 
 The roots of this plant creep through the 
 muddy bottoms of ponds to a great extent. They 
 are very rough, knotted, blackish, and as large as 
 a man's arm. The porous stalks, which proceed 
 from these, ai'e bouyed up by the quantity of air 
 they contain, and continue to be elongated till 
 they reach the surface of the water, which is 
 
136 NYMPHiEA OD GRATA, 
 
 often at the height of several feet. The upper 
 side of the leaves has a highly repelleut power for 
 water, owing to its finely polished surface, from 
 which the fluid rolls off as from a coating of oil. 
 When the buds have attained to maturity, they 
 emerge and expand their flowers. This takes 
 place in the morning ; and when the sun is bright, 
 a bed of these flowers presents a truly magnifi- 
 cent spectacle. Owing to the concavity of the 
 calyx and petals they continue to float during a 
 great part of the day. They are seldom elevated 
 from the surface, except when the stem is un- 
 commonly large, or pushed upward by some 
 displacement of the adjacent leaves. At night, 
 or before, the flowers close, and either rest on 
 the surface or sink beneath it till the subsequent 
 day. When flowering is over, the germ sinks to 
 the bottom and there ripens its fruit. 
 
 The genus IVymphsea is now separated from 
 some other plants formerly attached to it by the 
 following character. Calycc four or five leaved ; 
 petals many, inserted into the germ below the 
 stamens ; stigma radiated, sessile with a tubercle 
 in the middle ; berry many celled, many seeded. 
 This species very nearly resembles the JV*. Alba 
 of Europe, but appears distinct by the following 
 marks. Leaves orbicular-cordate, entire^ the lobes 
 
SWEET SCENTED WATER LILY. 137 
 
 acuminate, and veins prominent beneath ; catyx 
 four-leaved, equal to the petals. — Linnseus placed 
 this genus in his Miscellanew, and Jussieu with 
 the Hydro charides. 
 
 The stalks, both of the leaves and flowers, 
 spring directly from the root. They vary in 
 length from one foot to five or six, according to 
 the depth of the water. The petioles are some- 
 what semicircular, the scapes round. Both are 
 perforated throughout by long tubes or air-vessels 
 which serve to float them. The leaves, which 
 swim on the surface, are nearly round with a 
 cleft or sinus extending to the centre, at which 
 the petiole is inserted in a peltate manner. The 
 lobes on each side of this sinus are prolonged 
 into an acute point. The upper surface is of a 
 bright glossy green almost without veins ; the 
 lower surface is reddish and marked by a multi- 
 tude of strong prominent veins diverging from 
 the centre. The calyx has four lanceolate leaves, 
 green without and white within. Petals nume- 
 rous, lanceolate, of a delicate whiteness, with 
 sometimes a tinge of lake on the outside. Sta- 
 mens numerous, yellow, in several rows ; the 
 filaments dilated, especially the outer ones, so as 
 to resemble petals ; the anthers in two longitu- 
 dinal cells growing to the filaments and opening 
 
138 KYMPH^A OD GRATA. 
 
 inwardly. The stigma has from twelve to twent j 
 four rajs, very much resembling abortive anthers, 
 at first incurved, afterwards spreading. At the 
 centre is a solid hemispherical protuberance, 
 usually called a nectary, but which appears to me 
 more like the true stigma. 
 
 The roots of this plant are among the strong* 
 est astringents, and we have scarcely any native 
 vegetable which affords more decided evidence 
 of this property. When fresh, if chewed in the 
 mouth, they are extremely styptic and bitter. 
 Their decoction instantly strikes a jet black colour 
 with sulphate of iron, and yields a dense, white 
 precipitate to a solution of gelatin. With alcohol 
 it deposites a slight flocculent substance resem- 
 bling fsecula. Tannin and gallic acid in large 
 quantities are to be considered its most character- 
 istic ingredients. 
 
 The flowers have a delicious odour, hardly 
 surpassed by any perfume which the summer 
 produces. This fragrance is perfect only when 
 the flowers are fresh, and, as they droop, becomes 
 contaminated with the common smell of aquatic 
 plants. It is peculiar in its character, and 
 resembles that of no other plant with which I am 
 acquainted. I have several times attempted to 
 separate this perfume by distillation both with 
 
SWEET SCENTED WATER LILY, 139 
 
 water and spirit, but have never succeeded in 
 preserving it in the faintest degree. It is much 
 more fugacious than the perfume of roses, and 
 seems to be destroyed by the application of heat. 
 Possibly the employment of a large quantity of 
 flowers at a time might yield a better product. 
 The stamens appear more odorous than the 
 petals, or at least preserve their odour longer in 
 drying. 
 
 The roots of the water lily are kept by most 
 of our apothecaries, and are much used by the 
 common people in the composition of poultices. 
 They are, no doubt, often injudiciously applied to 
 suppurating tumours, since their astringency 
 must be rather discutient, than promotive of 
 suppuration. They are occasionally used by 
 physicians in cases where astringent applications 
 are called for, and answer a purpose somewhat 
 analogous to that of lead poultices and alum 
 curds. The roots, which, when fresh, are large 
 and fleshy ; in drying, lose a great part of their 
 weight and size, becoming spongy and friable. 
 
 The Mymphsea alba of Europe, which appears 
 perfectly similar in its qualities to the American 
 plant, was celebrated by the ancients, [^J^ote C] 
 as an antaphrodisiac, and as a remedy in dysen- 
 tery and some other morbid discharges. To the 
 11) 
 
140 NYMPHJBA OD GRATA. 
 
 latter purpose its astringency might, in same 
 instances, make it well suited. The roots and 
 seeds of the Nymphsea lotus were^ used by the 
 ancient Egyptians as bread. 
 
 BOTANICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 Njmphsea odorata, WiLLD. <S(p. ^?. ii. 1153. — Bot. Mag. 819. — > 
 Bot. Bepository, 297. — Pursh, ii. 368. — Nympheea alba, Michaux, 
 i. 311. — Walter, ClaroL 155. Castalia pudica, Salisbury, dnnah 
 of BoU ii. 71. 
 
 MEDICAL REFERENCE. 
 
 Cutler, Amer, Transactions, i. 456. 
 
 PLATE LV. 
 
 Fig. 1. Leaf and jloiver of J\'ymp}icea odorata. 
 
 Fig. 2. Different stamens from the same fiower. 
 
 Fig. 3. Stigma. 
 
 Fig. 4. Section of the germ. 
 
 Fig. 5. *9 cell of the germ magnified. 
 
 Fig. 6. Section of the scape. 
 
 Fig. 7. Section of petiole. 
 
'^ /'^Y//.^///aVit^ 
 
 1/ /?(9J 
 
PEINOS VERTICILLATUS. 
 
 Black Alder. 
 
 TLATE LVI, 
 
 After tlie leaves have fallen in autumn, this 
 shrub becomes conspicuous by its glossy scarlet 
 berries, v^hich adhere in bunches, for a long time, 
 to the sides of the branches. Of the objects 
 which impart any liveliness to this season of 
 decay, the most noticeable are those which change 
 the hue of their leaves from green to red, as the 
 oaks, the vaccinia, ^c. those which flower late, as 
 the Hamamelis, and those whose fruit attains to 
 maturity under the influence of frost, and appears 
 fresh and vegetating, while other things are 
 withering about them. The species of Prinos 
 are of the last description. 
 
 This genus consists of shrubs, a part of which 
 are deciduous, and a part evergreen ; bearing 
 sin.all lateral or axillary flowers. It is nearly 
 
14^ PRINOS VERTICILLATUS. 
 
 related to the Ilices or HoUys, differing chiefly 
 in the number of its parts. Its character is 
 formed by a sio? cleft cahjac^ a monopetaloiis 
 subrotate si^c cleft corolla, and a sia^ seeded berry. 
 The Prinos yerticillutus has its leaves deciduous, 
 oval, serrate, acuminate, slightly pubescent be- 
 neath ; fiowers ancillary, aggregate. 
 
 These shrubs 'have usually been referred to 
 Heccandria Monogynia. The present species and 
 some others having different flowers on separate 
 plants, Michaux was induced to place them in 
 Dicecia. The natural orders to which they are 
 assigned are Bumosce of Linn, and Rhamni of 
 Juss. 
 
 The Black Alder, for so the shrub is usually 
 called, is found in swamps and about the edges of 
 streams and ponds from Canada to the Southern 
 states. It is irregular in its growth, but most 
 commonly forms bunches six or eight feet in 
 height. The leaves are alternate or scattered, 
 on short petioles, oval, acute at base, sharply 
 serrate, acuminate, with some hairiness, particu- 
 larly on the veins underneath. The flowers are 
 small, white, growing in little tufts or imperfect 
 umbels, which are nearly sessile in the axils of 
 the leaves. Calyx small, six cleft^ persistent. 
 Corolla raonopetalous, spreading, without a tube. 
 
BLACK ALDER. 143 
 
 the border divided into six obtuse segments. 
 The stamens are erect, with oblong anthers. In. 
 the barren flowers they are equal in length to the 
 corolla, in the fertile ones, shorter. The germ, 
 in the fertile flowers, is large, green, roundish, 
 with a short neck or style, terminating in an 
 obtuse stigma. These are followed by irregular 
 bunches of bright scarlet bierries, which are 
 roundish, supported by the persistent calyx, and 
 crowned with the stigma, six celled, containing 
 six long seeds, which are convex outwardly and 
 sharp edged within. These berries are bitter 
 and unpleasant to the taste, with a little sweet* 
 ness and some acrimony. 
 
 The bark of the Black alder is moderately 
 bitter, but inferior in this respect to many of our 
 shrubs and trees. It discovers very little astrin- 
 gency either to the taste, or to chemical tests. 
 A decoction which I made of the dried bark 
 underwent no alteration on the addition of dis- 
 solved gelatin, and only changed to a dark green 
 with the sulphate of iron. Alcohol produced 
 hardly any change. The tincture, in alcohol, was 
 found moderately bitter, and was not altered by 
 water. 
 
 The Black alder has had a considerable repu- 
 liatioii as a tonic medicine, perhaps more than it 
 
144? PRINOS VERTlCIliLATUS. 
 
 deserves. The late Professor Barton tells us, 
 that the bark has long been a popular remedy in 
 different parts of the United States, being used in 
 intermittents and some other diseases as a sub- 
 stitute for the Peruvian bark ; and on some 
 occasions, he thinks it more useful than that 
 article. " It is employed both in substance and 
 in decoction, most commonly, however, in the 
 latter shape. It is supposed to be especially 
 useful in cases of great debility accompanied with 
 fever ; as a corroborant in anasarcous and other 
 dropsies, and as a tonic in cases of incipient 
 sphacelus or gangrene. In the last case," he 
 says, "it is unquestionably a medicine of great 
 eJB&cacy. It is both given internally and employed 
 externally as a wash." 
 
 Dr. Thacher recommends a decoction or in- 
 fusion of the bark taken internally in doses of a 
 teacupful, and employed also as a wash, for the 
 cure of cutaneous eruptions, particularly of the 
 herpetic kind. 
 
 I have had but little experience with the 
 bark of the Prinos which gave me much satis- 
 faction. Indeed the tests of tonic remedies are 
 of a more ambiguous kind than those of most 
 other medicines. Vegetable barks, which are 
 bitter and astringent, are generally tonic, if they 
 
BLACK ALDER. 145 
 
 have no more striking operation ; and in this 
 property they differ in a degree somewhat pro- 
 portionate to their bitterness and astriugency. 
 Judging by these criterions, the Prinos is not 
 entitled to hold a very exalted rank in the list of 
 tonics. As a bitter it is at best but of the second 
 rate, and in astringency it falls below a multitude 
 of the common forest trees. 
 
 The berries are recommended by the writers 
 above cited, as possessing the same tonic proper- 
 ties with the bark. They certainly possess some 
 activity, which, in large quantity, is not of the 
 tonic kind. I have known sickness and vomiting 
 produced in a person by eating a number of these 
 berries found in the woods in autumn. 
 
 BOTANICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 Prinos verticillatus, Linn, Sp. pi. — Pursh, i. 220. — Prinos Gro- 
 aovii, MioHAux, ii. 236. — Prinos padifolius, Willd. Enum. Berol. 
 394. 
 
 MEDICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 B. S. Barton, Collections, ii, d,— Thacher, Lisp. 324, 
 
i4!^ PKINOS VERTICILLATUS. 
 
 PLATE LVI. 
 
 Fiff. t. Prinos verticillatus, a branch injlower:^ 
 
 Fig. 2. Ripe berries. 
 
 Fig. 3. Calyx magnified. 
 
 Fig. i. The rest of the flower ditto. 
 
 Fig. 5. Stamen of the barren flower magnified. 
 
 Fig. 6. Crerm of the fertile flower dittOi 
 
^^L.LVII 
 
 ,^a-^M:f^CiX a/i^f^ 
 
 W^v/d 
 
 ^in/iin <f Smzs/t. 
 
 % 
 
SABBATIA AN'GULAEIS, 
 
 American Centcnwy, 
 
 PLATE LVIL 
 
 Under the name of Chironia cmgnlavis^ this 
 plant has been familiar to physicians in the 
 United States as a native bitter. As it wants the 
 most distinguishing cliaracters of Chironia, while 
 it has others of a very different kind, particularly 
 in the anthers and stigma ; I have followed the 
 example of Pursh and others in referring it to the 
 genus Sabbatia of Adauson. 
 
 This genus is characterised by a persistent 
 
 calyx from five to twelve parted ; a corolla from 
 
 five to twelve parted; anthers finally revolute ; 
 
 stigma tivo parted^ spiral ; capsule one celled. 
 
 The Sabbatia angular is differs from the rest of 
 
 the genus in being erect^ the leaves clasping, 
 
 peduncles elongated and corymbose, segments of 
 
 the calyx lanceolate, half as long as the corolla ; 
 
 stem square and tvinged. 
 20 
 
148 SABBATIA ANGULAKIS. 
 
 Class Feiitantlria, order Monogynia ; natural 
 orders Bosucece^ Linn. Gentiance, Juss. 
 
 This plant grows in damp rich soils through" 
 out the Middle and Southern states, and is most 
 commonly known by the name of Centaury. It 
 is commonly from one to two feet high. The 
 stem is erect, smooth, square, with the angles 
 winged. Branches axillary, opposite. The leaves 
 are opposite and ovate, but vary in length and 
 width. They are heart-shaped at base, clasping 
 half the stem, nerved, smooth, entire, acute. 
 Flowers terminal, forming a large corymb. Tube 
 of the calyx angular, Avith five broad segments. 
 Corolla five parted with oval segments twice as 
 long as the calyx. The anthers are oblong and 
 slightly recurved at the time when the flower 
 first opens. After shedding their pollen they 
 become revolute and curl up, but never assume 
 the spiral form like the anthers of Chironia. 
 Germ ovate ; style longer than the stamens, 
 declined ; stigma two parted, the segments 
 separate at first, but gradually becoming twisted 
 spirally together. Capsule one celled, two 
 valved. 
 
 Every part of this plant is a pure and very 
 strong bitter. In this quality, as well as in its 
 medicinal properties, it is resembled by several 
 
AMERICAN CENTAURY. 149 
 
 otlier species of the same genus. An extractive 
 principle appears to be the seat of this property, 
 as it is communicated alike to alcohol and water, 
 and as the solutions in these fluids do not occa- 
 sion precipitates from each other. There appears 
 to be no astringency in the vegetable. 
 
 In the collections for an American Materia 
 Medica by the late Professor Bai'ton, we are told 
 that this plant is a valuable tonic bitter resembling 
 the Centaury of Europe, for which it was used by 
 some practitioners on the supposition of its being 
 the same plant. It had long been a popular 
 remedy, and was much employed in the yelloTV 
 fever of Philadelphia, in 1793. 
 
 In Mr. Elliott's Botany of the Southern states, 
 we are told that the plant, in South Caix)lina, is a 
 common remedy in intermittent fever. Some of 
 the other species of the same family, particularly 
 S. gracilis, are equally efficacious. It is deserving 
 of remark, that a great number of vegetables, 
 belonging to the same natural order, are highly 
 bitter, and approved as tonic remedies. 
 
 From the use I have made of the Sabbatia, 
 
 I have no hesitation in attesting its utility. It 
 
 seems to me to rank among the more pure or 
 
 simple bitters, and acts usefully as a stomachic 
 
 / and promoter of appetite and digestion. Beyond 
 
ITfO SABBATIA ANGULARIS. 
 
 this, I have no experience with it. It may be 
 given in substance or in infusion, but the latter 
 mode is generally preferred. This form is one 
 in which it appears to be largely used by physi- 
 cians in the Middle states. Dr. Chapman tells 
 us, it is resorted to extensively by every class of 
 practitioners, regular and irregular, in the inter- 
 mittent and remittent fevers. He thinks it has 
 the advantage over Peruvian bark of being sus- 
 ceptible of employment in every stage of these 
 diseases. 
 
 BOTANICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 Sabbatia angularis, Pursh, Flora Jivner. i. 137. — ElliotTj Flora 
 I. 285. — Chironia angiilariSj Willd. Sp. pi. i, 1067. — Michaux, 
 Flora, i. 146. 
 
 MEDICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 B. S. Barton, Coll. i. 15.— Chapman, Therapeutics, ii. 417.— 
 Elliott, I. c. supra. 
 
 PLATE LVII. 
 
 Fig. 1. Sabbatia angidaris. 
 
 Fig. 2. The stamen before it bursts, magnified. 
 
 Fig. 3. Stamen after bursting, do. 
 
 Fig. 4. Fistil magnified with the stigmas not yet twisted. 
 
 Fig. 5. l)o. the stigmas having become spiral. 
 
J=.L. Lvni 
 
ERYTHRONIUM AMERICANUM. 
 
 Common Erythronium, 
 
 TLJITE LVIIL 
 
 Jb OR a considerable time the genus Erythro- 
 nium was considered as containing only one 
 species, the E. dens canis of Europe and Asia. 
 The American plant was considered, by Michaux, 
 as a variety of the European, differing only in 
 colour. Later botanists have, with propriety, 
 separated it, and besides this, one or two other 
 American species have been added to the genus.* 
 
 The natural order, called Liliacew by Linnseus, 
 and Lilia by Jussieu, is perhaps not exceeded by 
 any other, in the uniform elegance of all its spe- 
 
 * My friend Mr. F. Boott discovered a new species of Erythro- 
 nium on the Camel's rump mountain in Vermont, which he calls E. 
 bracteatum. Its character is E. foliis incequalibus, scapo bracteato. 
 In all the specimens gathered by that gentleman, the leaves were 
 very unequal, one being twice the size of the other ; the scape had 
 also a lanceolate bracte near the top. The flower was yellow and 
 about half the size of E, timericanum. 
 
152 ERYTHRONIUM AMERICANUM. 
 
 cies. The Lilj, Tulip, Crown imperial, and 
 Gloriosa are specimens of this order. They 
 belong to the same artificial class and order Heoj- 
 andna trigynia, and have a close affinity in all the 
 parts of their structure. The Erythronium, 
 which is generally called, I know not for what 
 reason, Dog^s tooth violet, is one of the smallest of 
 the order. 
 
 This genus has no calyoc. lis corolla is 
 inferior, sioc petalled ; the three inner petals with 
 a callous prominence on each edge near the hase. 
 The common American plant has its scape naked^ 
 its leaves lanceolate and involute at the point; and 
 its style club-shaped and undivided. It is an early 
 flowering plant, being in blossom in the first part 
 of May. It grows in woods and fields in the 
 Northern and Middle states. 
 
 The root is a solid bulb, situated deep in the 
 ground, brown outside, and white and homoge- 
 neous within. The whole plant is smooth and 
 glossy. Scape naked, slender. Leaves two, 
 nearly equal, lanceolate, veinless, of a dark 
 brownish green, clouded with irregular spots, 
 sheathing the scape with their base, and termi- 
 nating in an obtuse callous point. Flower solitary, 
 drooping. Petals six, lanceolate, yellow, the 
 three outermost partly crimson on the outside, 
 
€OMMON ERYTHRONIUM. 153 
 
 tlie three innermost having an obscure tooth on 
 each side near the base. In a clear sun the petals 
 are expanded and re volute, but at night and on 
 cloudy days, they are nearly closed. Filaments 
 flat, anthers oblong-linear. Germ obovate, style 
 longer than the stamens, club-shaped, three 
 lobed at top and terminating in three distinct, 
 but not detached, stigmas. Capsule oblong- 
 obovate, somewhat pedicelled. 
 
 The bulb of this plant, judging from its 
 texture and taste, is almost wholly farinaceous. 
 When dry, it is mealy and free from any un- 
 pleasant flavour. Having lost my specimens of 
 the root at the time of preparing this article, I 
 was unable to submit this part to chemical exam- 
 ination. A tincture was prepared from some 
 dried leaves and flowers, which gave evidence of 
 resin being present, wlien tested with alcohol. 
 Water distilled from the same parts had a rather 
 disagreeable odour. 
 
 This vegetable possesses the power of acting 
 on the stomach as an emetic. About twenty 
 five grains of the green root and forty of the 
 recently dried root have produced nausea and 
 vomiting. WSsen the root is fully and thoroughly 
 dried, or when it has been exposed to heat, it 
 appears to lose this property in a great measure. 
 
154^ EllYTHRONIUM AMERICANUM. 
 
 In its power of acting on the alimentary canal, 
 it resembles many other plants, which are related 
 to it in botanical habit. The Squill, Colchicum, 
 and Aloe are examples of this class, and even the 
 common Daffodil and Tulip are found to be 
 emetic. I have known a family of children to be 
 taken with violent vomiting from having, by 
 mistake, dug up, roasted and eaten some Tulip 
 roots, supposing them to be Artichokes. 
 
 It is probable that the medicinal activity of 
 the Erythronium is of a volatile nature, capable 
 of being dissipated by heat. Its farinaceous 
 portion, when duly separated, is no doubt innox- 
 ious. Gmelin, in his Flora Sibirica, states, that 
 the Tartars collect and dry the roots of Erythro- 
 nium dens canis^ and boil them either with milk 
 or broth, and consider them as very nutritious 
 food. They are said nearly to resemble salep. 
 It is remarkable that farinaceous roots, which 
 possess active and even virulent qunlities, do not 
 impart them to the f^ecula, which constitutes so 
 large a portion of their bulk. The different 
 species of Arum, Calla, and the Jatropha Mani- 
 hot are examples of this fact, affording nutritious 
 bread, although their crude juices are more or 
 less poisonous. 
 
COMMON ERYTHRONIUM. 155 
 
 The leaves of tlie American Ervtlironiuni 
 are suid to be more active than the root, but on 
 this subject I am not fully informed. It is 
 probable that the recent leaves have more activity 
 than the dry. 
 
 BOTANICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 Erythronium Americanum, Ker, UoL J/ao*. t. 1113. — Nuttall, 
 Genera, i. 223. — E. lanceolatum, Pursh, i. 230. — E. longifolium, 
 PoiRET, Encijcl. Methodique. — E. flavunij Smith, Rees^ Cycl. — E. 
 dens canis, Michaux, Flora, i. 198. 
 
 PLATE LVIII. 
 
 Fig. 1. Erythronium Jimericanum, the flower rather more droop- 
 ing than common. 
 Fig. 2. One of the inner petals. 
 Fig. 3. Stamen. 
 Fig. 4. Pistil. 
 Fig. 5. Stigma magnified. 
 Fig. 6. Moot. 
 
 SI 
 
XAI^THOXYLUM FRAXmEUM. 
 
 Prickly Jisli. 
 
 PLATE LIX, 
 
 A HE Prickly Ash is a shrub of middling 
 height, found in woods and moist or shady decliv- 
 ities in the Northern, Middle and Western states. 
 It is rare in Massachusetts and the states north 
 of it, its localities being very circumscribed. 
 After I had taken pains to procure specimens 
 from Connecticut, I accidentally discovered a 
 thicket of the shrubs in a wood in Medford, six 
 miles from Boston. 
 
 Late botanists have placed the genus Xan- 
 thoxylum in Pentandria Pentctgynia, although it 
 is dioecious, or rather polygamous. Its calycc is 
 inferior, Jive parted ; corolla none ; capsules from 
 three to five, one seeded. The X fraccineiim is 
 2iricMy, the leaves pinnate ; leafets ovate, siiben- 
 tire, sessile, equal at base ; umhels accillary. 
 
6 
 
 J/) 
 
PRICKLY ASH, 157 
 
 Linnseus placed the Xanthoxyla in his natural 
 order Bumosce^ but Smith thinks them better 
 arranged with the Hederacew. Jussieu places 
 them with his Terebintaceis aj^nia. 
 
 The branches of the Prickly ash are covered 
 with strong, sharp prickles, arranged without 
 order, though most frequently in pairs at the 
 insertion of the young branches. Leaves pinnate, 
 the common petiole sometimes unarmed and 
 sometimes prickly on the back. Leafets about 
 five with an odd one, nearly sessile, ovate, acutCj 
 with slight vesicular serratures, somewhat downy 
 underneath. The flowers appear in April and 
 May before the leaves are expanded. They grow 
 in sessile umbels about the origin of the young 
 branches, are small and greenish. I have 
 observed them of three kinds, making the shrub 
 strictly polygamous. In the staminiferous floAver 
 the calyx is five leaved, tbe leaves oblong, obtuse, 
 erect. Stamens five with subulate filaments and 
 sagittate four celled anthers. In the place of 
 pistils are three or four roundish corpuscles 
 supported on pedicels from a common base. 
 The perfect flowers, growing on the same plant, 
 have the calyx and stamens like the last ; the 
 germs are three or four, pedicelled, and having 
 erect, converging styles nearly as long as tbe 
 
Ii58 XANTHOXYLUM FEAXINEUM. 
 
 stamens. The pistilliferoiis flowers grow on a 
 separate shrub. Calyx smaller and more com- 
 pressed. Germs about five, pedicelled ; styles 
 converging into close contact at top, and a little 
 twisted. Stigmas obtuse. All the flov/ers are 
 destitute of corolla. Each fertile flower produces 
 an umbel of as many stipitate capsules as there 
 were germs in the flower. These capsules are 
 oval, covered with excavated dots, varying from 
 green to red, two valved, one seeded ; the seed 
 oval, blackish. 
 
 The bark of the Prickly ash has a slight 
 aromatic flavour, combined with a strong pun- 
 gency, which is rather slow in manifesting itself 
 in the mouth. The leaves are more aromatic, 
 very much resembling, in smell, the leaves of the 
 Lemon tree. The rind of the capsule is highly 
 fragrant, imparting to the fingers, when rubbed 
 between them, an odour much like the oil of 
 lemons. The odorous portion is an essential 
 oil residing in transparent vesicular points on the 
 surface of the capsules and about the margins of 
 the leaves. The acrimony, which resides in the 
 bark, has its foundation in a different principle ; 
 being separated by decoction, but not by distil- 
 lation ; at least none of it came over m my 
 experiments, which were repeated with both the 
 
PRICKLY ASH. 109 
 
 green and dried bark. The water in wiiich the 
 bark is boiled has a peculiar pungent heat, which 
 is not perceived when the liquid is first taken 
 into the mouth, but gradually developes itself by 
 a burning sensation on the tongue and fauces. 
 It retains this acrimony after standing a week 
 and more. The leaves do not appear to possess 
 the pungency of the bark, and impart no acri- 
 mony to the water in which they are boiled. 
 They abound in mucilage, which coagulates in 
 large films when alcohol is added to the decoction. 
 They seem to possess more astringency than the 
 bark, and strike a black colour with sulphate of 
 iron, while solutions, made from the bark, are but 
 moderately changed by the same test. The 
 alcoholic tincture of the bark is bitter and very 
 acrid. Its transparency is diminished by adding 
 water, and after standing some time it becomes 
 very turbid. Whether the acrimony of this 
 shrub resides in a peculiar acrid principle, or 
 whether it belongs to the resin and becomes 
 miscible with water in consequence of the presence 
 of mucilage, may be considered as yet uncertain. 
 The Prickly ash has a good deal of reputa- 
 tion in the United States as a remedy in chronic 
 rheumatism. In that disease its operation seems 
 analogous to that of Mezereon and Guaiacum, 
 
160 XANTHOXYLUM FRAXINEUM. 
 
 which it nearly resembles in its sensible proper- 
 ties. It is not only a popular remedy in the 
 country, but many physicians place great reliance 
 on its powers in rheumatic complaints, so that 
 apothecaries generally give it a place in their 
 shops. It is most frequently given in decoction, 
 an ounce being boiled in about a quart of water. 
 Dr. George Hayward, of Boston, informs me, that 
 he formerly took this decoction in his own case 
 of chronic rheumatism with evident relief. It 
 was prepared as above stated, and about a pint 
 taken in the course of a day, diluted with water 
 sufficient to render it palatable by lessening the 
 pungency. It was warm and grateful to the 
 stomach, produced no nausea nor effect upon the 
 bowels, and excited little, if any, perspiration. 
 
 1 have given the powdered bark in doses of 
 ten and twenty grains in rheumatic affections 
 with considerable benefit. A sense of heat was 
 produced at the stomach by taking it, but no 
 other obvious effect. In one case it effectually 
 removed the complaint in a few days. I have 
 known it, however, to fail entirely in obstinate 
 cases, sharing the opprobrium of failure with a 
 variety of other remedies. 
 
 The Prickly ash has been employed by 
 physicians in some cases as a topical stimulant. 
 
PRICKLY ASH. 161 
 
 It produces a powerful effect when applied to 
 secreting surfaces and to ulcerated parts. In the 
 West Indies much use has been made of the 
 bark of another species, the Xanthoxylum Clava 
 Herculis, in malignant ulcers, both internally 
 administered and externally applied. Commu- 
 nications relating to its efficacy may be found in 
 the eighth volume of the Medical and Physical 
 Journal, and the fifth volume of the Transactions 
 of the Medical Society of London. 
 
 By an ambiguity which frequently grows out 
 of the use of common or English names of plants, 
 J:he Jlralia spinosa, a very different shrub, has 
 been confounded with the Xanthoxylum. The 
 Aralia, called Jhigelica tree, and sometimes 
 FricMy ash, is exclusively a native of the warmer 
 parts of the United States, being not found, to my 
 knowledge, in the Atlantic states north of Yir- 
 ginia. Its flavour and pungency, as well as its 
 general appearance, are different from those of 
 the true Prickly ash. It is nevertheless a valu- 
 able stimulant and diaphorf;tic, and in Mr. Elli- 
 ott's Southern Botany, we are told that it is an 
 efficacious emetic. For the latter purpose it is 
 given in large doses, in infusion. 
 
 The name Xanthoxylum, signifying yellotv 
 woody was originally given by Mr, Golden. The 
 
163 XANTHOXYLUM PRAXINEUM. 
 
 spelling has since been unaccountably changed 
 to Zanihoccylon in a majority of the books which 
 contain the name. The etymology, however, can 
 leave no doubt of the true orthography. 
 
 BOTANICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 Xanthoxjlum fraxineum, Smith, iZees' Cycl. JVo. 12. — Z. fraxi- 
 neum, Pursh, i. 209. — Z. clava Herculis /3. Linx^us, Sp. pi. — Z. 
 raraiflorum, Michaux, Flora, ii. 235. — ^Fagara fraxini folio, Duha- 
 MEL, Arb. V. t. 97. 
 
 MEDICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 B. S. Barton, Collections, i. 25, 52 ; ii. 38. — Thacher, Dispen- 
 satory, sub Aralia spinosa. 
 
 PLATE LIX. 
 
 Fig. 1. Xanthoxylum fraxineum in fruit. 
 
 Fig. 2. %8. barren branch in flower. 
 
 Fig. 3. Fertile branch in flower. 
 
 Fig. 4. Barren floiver magnified. 
 
 Fig. 5. Stamen, do. 
 
 Fig. 6. Abortive germ of the barren flower, do. 
 
 Fig. 7. Fertile flower, do. 
 
 Fig. 8. Pistils of ditto, do. 
 
 Fig. 9. Perfect flower, do. 
 
 Fig. 10. Capsule, do. beginning to open. 
 
 Fig. 11. Seed, do. 
 

HUMULUS LUPULUS. 
 
 Common Hop. 
 
 PLATE LX. 
 
 ' Jlhe Hop vine is not only a native of most 
 countries in Europe, but is decidedly indigenous 
 in America. It often occurs wild in the Atlantic 
 states, and was found, by Mr. Nuttall, growing 
 spontaneously on the banks of the Missouri. 
 Sir J. E. Smith has quoted an old distich, which 
 seems to be illustrative of the period of its intro- 
 duction into practical use in England, about 
 Henry the YIII's time ; although he has no doubt 
 of its being really native in that country.* The 
 Hop being a medicinal article of some conse- 
 quence, and one generally retained by the Phar- 
 macopoeias I there is a propriety in introducing 
 it in a Medical Botany of the United States. 
 
 * " Turkeys, Carp, Hops, Pickerel and Beer 
 Came into England all in one year." 
 
.m 
 
 164? HUMULUS LUPULUS. 
 
 The genus Humiilus, which has only a single 
 species, is found in the Linnsean class Bioecia^ 
 and order Pentandria. It belongs to the natural 
 orders Scabridce, Linn, and Urtieoe, Juss. Its 
 barren flowers have a calycc of jive leaves and 
 no corolla. The fertile flowers have for their 
 calya? the scales of an ament, each two flowered ; 
 corolla of one petal, lateral ; styles two ; seeds 
 solitary, invested with the corolla. 
 
 The Hop vine is an ornamental plant, much 
 more frequently seen cultivated than wild, and 
 climbing to a great height. The root is peren- 
 nial. Stems annual, twining from right to left, 
 angular, rough, with minute reflexed prickles. 
 Leaves opposite, on long winding petioles, the 
 smaller ones heart-shaped, the larger ones three 
 or five lobed, serrated, veiny and extremely 
 rough. Flowering branches axillary, angular 
 and rough. Stipules two or four, between the 
 petioles, ovate, reflexed. Flowers numerous, and 
 of a greenish colour. Those of the barren plants 
 are very numerous and panicled. Their calyx 
 has five oblong, obtuse, spreading, concave leaves. 
 Corolla wanting. Stamens short, the anthers 
 oblong, and bursting by two terminal pores. 
 The fertile flowers, growing on a separate plant, 
 are in the form of an anient, having each pair of 
 
COMMON HOP. 165 
 
 iSowers supported by a calyx-scale, wliicli is ovate, 
 acute, tubular at base. Corolla of one scale, 
 obtuse, smaller than the calyx and placed one on 
 each side of it, infolding the germ by their eds^e. 
 Germ roundish, compressed ; styles two, short; 
 stigmas long, subulate, downy. The scales of 
 the calyx and corolla swell into a kind of persis- 
 tent cone or strobile, each flower producing a 
 roundish seed. 
 
 The full grown strobiles constitute the part 
 which is preserved for use and sold in its dried 
 state under the name of Hops. These have an 
 aromatic, heavy odour, and a strong, bitter, but 
 not unpleasant taste. Besides the bitterness, 
 they have the characteristic taste which is found 
 in the leaves and other portions of the plant. On 
 the outside of the scales of the calyx and corolla 
 and near their base, is secreted a semi-resinous 
 substance in the form of minute, yellow, trans- 
 parent globules. This secretion appears to be 
 the seat of the whole bitterness for which the hops 
 are generally prized and consumed. Dr. Smith, 
 in the English Botany, has observed, that the 
 fragrance and essential properties of the hop 
 reside in this resinous substance ; and more 
 recently an interesting series of experiments has 
 been published by Dr. A. W. Ives, of New York, 
 
166 HUMULUS LUPULUS. 
 
 to show that this portion may effectually super- 
 cede all the rest, m common practical use. 
 
 This substance, when separated from the hops 
 by rubbing and sifting, exists in the form of a 
 fine yellow powder. It is adhesive when rubbed 
 between the fingers, and becomes agglutinated 
 by moderate heat. It is very inflammable, and 
 burns entirely out with a white flame, leaving a 
 light cinder. 
 
 Dr. Ives has made a variety of experiments 
 with this powder, from which he concludes that 
 it consists of tannin, extractive matter, a bitter 
 principle, wax, resin, and a woody fibrous sub- 
 stance, besides the aromatic principle, which he 
 was unable to separate in the form of volatile oil. 
 It may be observed, that the powder, as employed 
 by him, being obtained from the hops by agitation 
 and sifting, must necessarily contain a certain 
 portion of chaff or minute fragments of the scales ; 
 and that these are apparently the seat of the tan- 
 nin, the woody insoluble substance, and possibly 
 of some other ingredients. If the pure secretion 
 be carefully separated from the scales by brush- 
 ing, and dissolved in alcohol, it does not undergo 
 any change of colour from the sulphate of iron ; 
 although the scales themselves, as well as the 
 
COMMON HOP. 167 
 
 leaves of the plant, strike a black colour when 
 treated with that salt. 
 
 Hops have long been made an ingredient in 
 malt liquors on account of the agreeable flavour 
 they communicate, and also from a preservative 
 quality which they are supposed to exert in 
 preventing acescency in those liquids. Dr. Ives 
 has shown that a prodigious saving of expense 
 might be made by brewers, if this powder were 
 separated at an early period, and used instead 
 of the hops themselves. He was able, without 
 much trouble, to separate fourteen ounces of the 
 powder from six pounds of hops, and concludes, 
 that if the hops were treated, during the process 
 of gathering and drying, with a view to the 
 preservation of the powder, they would yield at 
 least one pound in six. He has pointed out a 
 vast saving, which would take place in the 
 expense of transportation and storage, if an 
 article containing all the strength of the hop, and 
 occupying but small compass, were substituted 
 for one which is of more than twenty times its 
 bulk. An enormous loss would farther be pre- 
 vented, which now takes place from the absorption 
 produced by the hops, it being calculated that one 
 barrel of wort is absorbed by every sixty pounds 
 of hops used in brewing. He enumerates still 
 
168 HUMULUS LUPULUS. 
 
 farther advantages which would result from the 
 easier preservation of the article, its superior 
 flavour, and the diminished chance of adulteration, 
 arising from reduction of price.* 
 
 The researches of Dr. Ives are entitled to 
 great commendation, as they seem to promise a 
 highly economical improvement in an important 
 branch of domestic manufacture. In Great 
 [Britain, where malt liquors are more extensively 
 consumed than, perhaps, in any other country, 
 the saving must he an object of more conse- 
 quence, than with us. It remains to be ascer- 
 tained whether any eflfectual and economical 
 method of separating the powder from the stro- 
 biles can be brought into practical use. 
 
 In ratedical practice the hop has been found 
 a decided and useful tonic. A fermented 
 decoction, known by the name of hop beer, and 
 usually formed from this article with the simple 
 addition of treacle, is much used in the New 
 England states. When made sufficiently bitter 
 with the hops, and taken as a common drink at 
 meals, it promotes digestion more than any of 
 
 * The term Lupulin, by which Dr. Ives designates the powder 
 of the hop, is convenient and not objectionable for practical use. 
 As a chemical term, however, it does not agree with those of similar 
 termination employed in the science; which express proximate 
 principles of vegetables &c. and not heterogeneous bodies. 
 
COMMON HOP. ,109 
 
 the table liquors in common use. It is service- 
 able in dyspeptic complaints, and is particularly 
 adapted to obviate the lassitude and debility felt 
 by persons of relaxed habit in the spring, or on 
 the approach of warm weather. A simple infu- 
 sion has been employed for this purpose, but the 
 fermented liquor derives a quality from the 
 presence of carbonic acid, which renders it more 
 agreeable, both to the palate and stomach. 
 
 The bitter principle of the Hop, in which its 
 tonic property appears to reside, is abundantly 
 soluble in water. Alcohol not only extracts this 
 portion, but dissolves also the resinous constitu- 
 ents of the medicine. The tincture of hops is 
 found to be bitter and aromatic, and to exert not 
 only a strengthening effect on the viscera, but 
 to influence considerably the nervous system in 
 the character of an anodyne and soporific medi- 
 cine. 
 
 I have employed the tincture of hops very 
 often in practice, and have, on the whole, had 
 quite as much reason to be satisfied with its tonic 
 operation, as with that of any of the bitter tinc- 
 tures in common use. Its narcotic power is 
 slight when compared with that of opium, yet it 
 nevertheless has, in certain cases, a decided 
 property of procuring sleep. I have particularly 
 
170 HUMULUS LUPULUS. 
 
 found it effectual in the case of persons advanced 
 in life, who had heen accustomed to the moderate, 
 but increasing use of spirituous liquors ; and who 
 at length liave considered it impossible to pro- 
 cure a quiet night's sleep without a preparatory 
 draught of this kind taken warm at bed time. 
 In such cases I have found a teaspoonful of the 
 tincture of hops to go as far in its composing 
 effect, as two or three ounces of ardent spirit. 
 
 Mr. Freake, who published in the Medical and 
 Physical Journal some account of the properties 
 of this medicine, states that he had found it de- 
 cidedly advantageous in erysipelas, in gout and in 
 some other diseases. He considers its beneficial 
 effects to arise from its alterative and tonic power 
 on the system. He thinks it sedative, aperient 
 and diuretic ; and a good antiseptic and corrobo- 
 rant in bowel complaints. In his practice he had 
 found pain to be eased and rest procured with 
 this medicine, when opium did not succeed. 
 
 Dr. Maton found that besides allaying pain 
 and procuring sleep, the preparations of hops 
 were capable of reducing the frequency of the 
 pulse, and increasing its firmness in a direct 
 manner. One drachm of the tincture and four 
 grains of the extract given once in six hours re- 
 duced the pulsations from ninety six to sixty in 
 
COMMON HOP. 171 
 
 the course of twenty l\)ur hours. He found the 
 extract very efficacious in allaying the pain of 
 of articular rheumatism. 
 
 Some experiments of Dr. Bigsby and others 
 have not been found to confirm the previous 
 character of this article in all the forea'oinjr 
 respects, and its sedative powers have been called 
 in question. As in most new medicines, its vir- 
 tues have doubtless been exaggerated by its earli- 
 est advocates ; yet it is not on this account to be 
 discarded from use. Although the narcotic 
 powers of the hop are not of the most energetic 
 kind, they nevertheless do exist, and the very 
 circumstance of their mild and temperate influ- 
 ence renders them, in many cases, safer than 
 those of more active drugs. 
 
 In regard to the lithontriptic power which 
 has been imputed to hops both alone, and through 
 the medium of malt liquors, it is not probable 
 that they have any operation of this sort, beyond 
 that of a palliative. 
 
 The external application of hops has long had 
 the popular reputation of being anodyne and com- 
 posing. A pillow of hops is thought instrumental 
 in procuring sleep, but with what justice I am 
 unable to say. Poultices and fomentations made 
 
 of them are in repute as sedative applications for 
 
 S3 
 
17^ HUMULUS LTJPULUS. 
 
 painful swellings. When steeped in hot brandy 
 and held in the mouth, they sometimes relieve 
 the pain of a carious tooth. For all these pur- 
 poses, no doubt, they often fail, yet there is little 
 temerity in asserting that they are equally to be 
 depended on in such cases, with the rest of the 
 articles of the Materia Medica. 
 
 The most common form for internal use, 
 where a sedative effect is desired, is that of the 
 saturated tincture. The powder separated from, 
 the hops may be given in substance with a cer- 
 tainty of securing all their medicinal effects. 
 This powder must be given in small doses, to be 
 retained on the stomach and bowels. Dr. Bry- 
 orly found that twenty or twenty five grains left 
 a sense of acrimony in tlie throat, and were fol- 
 lowed by a good deal of nausea, and in some 
 instances by purging. 
 
 The vine of the hop has been appropriated 
 to some economical uses. In spring, when the 
 young shoots first emerge from the ground, they 
 are boiled and eaten as asparagus, and are 
 accounted very salubrious. The fibres of the vine 
 are strong and flexible and have been manufac- 
 tured into a coarse cloth in Sweden and England, 
 particularly for the sacks in which the hops are 
 carried to market 
 
COMMON HOP. 173 
 
 BOTANICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 Humulus lupulus, Linn. Sp. pi. — Smith, Engl. Bot. t. 427. — ■ 
 Miller, Illustrations, t. 88. — Michaux, ii. — Pursh, i. 199. — Nut- 
 tall, ii. 237. — Lupulus mas et fBemina, Ray, Syn. 137» 
 
 MEDICAL REFERENCES. 
 
 Freake, Med. and Phys. Journal, xiii. 432. — Thompson, Lon- 
 don Dispensatory, 200. — Bigsby, London Medical Repository, v. 97« 
 — Bryorly, Inaug, Diss. Philad. 1803. — Ives, in SiUhnan''s Jour 
 nal, ii. 302. 
 
 PLATE LX. 
 
 Fig. 1. Humulus lupulus in fruit. 
 
 Fig. 2. Fertile flowers. 
 
 Fig. 3. Calyx and pistil of do. (the corolla omitted by mistake 
 
 of the engraver.) 
 Fig. 4. Barren flowers. 
 Fig. 5. Stamen magnified. 
 
NOTES. 
 
 JVofe Jl. 
 
 Banunculi, quod aliqui apium agreste nominant, plura quidem 
 sunt genera : at vis tamen omnibus una, acris scilicet ac vehementer 
 exulcerans. Ac unum quidem coriandri foliis constat, sed latioribus, 
 subalbidis et pinguibus: flore luteo, interdiim purpureo. Caulis 
 minime crassus est, sed cubitum altus. Radice nititur exigua, Can- 
 dida et amara, adnatis ceu capillamentis, hellebori modo, fibrata: 
 juxta fluenta nascitur. Alterum est lanuginosius, longioreque 
 caule, pluribus foliorum incisuris, plurimum in Saridinia proveniens, 
 acerrimum, quod etiam sylvestre apium appellant. Est et tertium 
 valde parvum et odore gravi; flore aureo. Quartum simile huic, 
 flore lacteo. Folia et caules tenelli vim habent illitu exulcerandi, et 
 usque adeo urendi, ut etiam crustas cum dolore inducant, Quare 
 scabros ungues auferunt, psoras removent, stigmata delent: itemque 
 formicationes ac pensiles verrucas et alopecias ad breve tempus im- 
 posita tollunt. Quin et repente eorum decocto perniones foventur. 
 Radix vero sicca tritaque, sternutamenta ciet, naribus admota: 
 dentium quoque dolores appensa levat, ipsos tamen rumpit. 
 
 Bioscorides. Interp. Sarraceni, Lib. ii. Cap. 206. 
 
 JSTote B, 
 
 Sponte jam patet, internum Euphorbii usum periculo plenum 
 esse. Sed confirmant id infortunia, specialibus casibus subnata. 
 Obiit quidam, cui empiricus illud imprudenter exhibuerat, dysenteria 
 eodem die. Virgo venusta seni decrepito, se invita, desponsata ad 
 mortem sibi conciliandam pulverem Euphorbii ingessit, unde dolores 
 ventris atrocigsimi, hypercatharses cum vomitionibus frequentissi- 
 
176 NOTES 
 
 mis, singultu, ardore ventnculi et faucium sitique inextinguibili, 
 tandem sudores frigidi et animi deliquia: ex quibus angustiis tamen 
 arte emersit. Nihilomimus tamen quidam illud praecipere ausi 
 sunt, et instar drastici, quod pituitam, sed potentius aquam, subdu- 
 ceret in iis, quibus venter nimis contra alia mitiora torpet, vel ut 
 loqui amant, friget, in hjdropicis praecipue admiserunt. Ita iEtius, 
 Actuarius et Arabes non nulli. Galenus et Dioscorides tacent de vi 
 ejus purgante. Omnes tamen, qui ore captum concedunt, cautionem 
 summam injungunt, et connubium, cum iis, quae acrimonium ejus 
 frangere valent, vel prsegressam mitigationem desiderant. Hanc 
 ipsam tentarunt oleo amygdalino, succo Citri, phlegmate Vitriolr, 
 Mastiche, Croco, Tragacantlia, Melle aliisque bene multis secundum 
 varium de ejus natura conceptum. Sed ejusmodi correctiones vel 
 non sufl&ciunt, vel, si sufficiunt, ipsam vim medicaminis destruunt. 
 Minuere dosin vel rite illam diluere, aliis exemplis artis est. Ast 
 nondum coraprobata vera dosis est. Ad grana decem permittit. 
 Sennertus, alias non ineptus subdolse Euphorbii vis judex; a grano 
 uno ad octo cum semisse concedit Heurnius ; a granis duobus sex 
 vel octo GeoiFroy. Omnibus hisce audacior et Fallopius, qui prse- 
 ceptoris sui Machesii auctoritate et propria experientia ductus, non 
 dubitavit Euphorbii vetusti drachmam unam, rarius scrupulos qua- 
 tuor, dare. Mixtum Cassia mitius deprehendit quam solutum, qua 
 forma sitim intolerabilem et evacuationem largiorem creavit. Sed 
 praestat usum internum eiusdem omnino negligere. 
 
 Murray Jipperatus Medicaviinum sub Euphorbia officinarum, 
 
 JS^ote C, 
 
 Nymphaea in paludibus stagnantibiisque aquis nascitur: folia 
 vero habet ^gyptiee fabse similia, at minora oblongioraque, plura ab 
 una eademque radice prodeuntia : quorum alia super aquam quodam- 
 modo extant, alia in ea ipsa demerguntur : florem album, lilio simi- 
 lem, in quo medium croceiim est. At cum defloruerit, calyculus 
 rotundus, figura malo aut papaveris capiti simUis, idemque niger, 
 extuberat : in quo semen nigi'um, latum, densum, atque gustanti len- 
 tum glutinosumve recluditur. Caulis est leevis, niinime cra^sus. 
 
NOTES. 177 
 
 riiger, ^gyptise fabse cauli simiiis : radix nigra, scabra, clavee simi- 
 
 lis, quee autumno secatur. Ea sicca, cum vino pota, cceliacis ac 
 
 dysentericis auxiliatur, lienemque consumit. Stomachi quoque ac 
 
 vesicse doloribus sedandis ipsa I'adix imponitur, et alphos ex aqua 
 
 emendat : alopeciis etiainnum cum pice imposita medetur. Eadem 
 
 contra veneris insomnia bibitur, siquidem ilia in totiim adimit : quin 
 
 et aliquot diebus continenter epota, genitale ita infirmat, ut arrigi 
 
 niinime possit. Idem porro seminis quoque poti efFectiis est. Cge- 
 
 terum a njmphis nymphfete nomen sibi vendicasse creditur, quoniam 
 
 loca amet aquosa. Plurima autem inuenitur in Helide, Anygro 
 
 amne, et in BcEotise Aliarto. 
 
 Dioscorides interp. Sarraceni, iii 1481 
 
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